


The Only Good Date

by Kitty_KatAllie



Category: Eyeshield 21
Genre: AlphaSena, Anal Sex, Happy Birthday Shin!, Heat/rut, Karin and Sena Deserve to be Friends, Knotting, M/M, OmegaShin, Rimming, Sena is a Dramatic Gay Disaster, Shin is just Trying His Best, Switching, Wall Sex, a/b/o dynamics, blind dates, cuz i'm here to f your expectations, everyone loves cats, so they are now, these boys be vers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:09:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 40,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25162177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kitty_KatAllie/pseuds/Kitty_KatAllie
Summary: At twenty-one, and in his last semester of college, Alpha Sena Kobayakawa has never had a date. His mother has a plan to fix that. Her son is the Perfect Alpha Catch, and she will make sure he finds someone. What unfolds is a series of dates, some good, some strange, but for some reason, the worst date of them all is the one that haunts him, and repeats itself, the most.
Relationships: Anezaki Mamori & Kobayakawa Sena, Karin Koizumi & Kobayakawa Sena, Kobayakawa Sena/Shin Seijuurou
Comments: 20
Kudos: 40





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> [The art](https://ketolic.tumblr.com/post/623235753375367168/happy-birthday-shin-seijuro) is by the AMAZING ketolic on tumblr and here, too!

“A marriage consultant?” Sena shrieked.

It wasn’t a very Alpha-like sound, but he’d just had the last 21 years of life mean _nothing_. Because this? This is the day he dies.

Of utter mortification.

His mother just smiled and nodded encouragingly. Meanwhile, his father refused to meet his eyes to wipe his glasses on his shirt tail.

“Sweetie, you’re an _Alpha_. You’re 21 and in a good college—”

“Enma isn’t a _good_ college, it’s not _awful_ , but it isn’t _good_.”

“— and so _cute_. You’re a catch. And, well, your father and I are only Betas. We don’t know the right people or families. We just want what’s best for you!”

“So you’re sending my… my _CV_ to a marriage consultant? I don’t need to get married any time soon, I’m _twenty-one_!”

“You don’t have to get married to the first interested Omega!” Mihae said with a laugh.

Sena eeped. The very _idea_ of dating an Omega was _terrifying_. Every Omega he’d ever met had been disappointed the moment they realized who the Alpha nearby was, and they _smelled_ too _good_. Being around an Omega, especially if they had weaker scent-blockers, had him woozy in seconds. It was very _uncomfortable_.

“You’ve never had a single date, whatever their secondary,” Mihae continued. Sena urked at _that_ dagger to the heart. True as it was. “We just want to help you get out there, meet someone, or _someones_.”

“Unless there’s someone already? Someone you haven’t told us about?” Shuuma piped up at last.

For one long stupid minute, Sena ran through every single one of his friends and wondered if one of them would pretend to be his secret boyfriend all along. Since his parents knew he was openly gay, it’d _have_ to be a boy. The only single guy friend he had was Riku, though. There’s no way his parents would buy it if he were secretly dating the coolest friend he had.

His shoulders slumped and he shook his head in surrender. “No, no one.”

Which was both depressing and exactly what his mother wanted to hear. He could _see_ her face lighting up with glee. He had no idea his mother had such a matchmaking streak this whole time. Sena supposed he should be glad she’d been so respectful this long, but he wasn’t glad. At all.

“But… a marriage consultant? Isn’t that just a _little_ drastic? I know you and dad met through one, but you were both almost 30.”

“I was thirty-three,” Shuuma muttered. He was turning his phone over and over in his hands, looking like he desperately wanted a book or newspaper to hide behind. It was a little harder to hide behind a phonescreen or ebook. But not impossible. Sena wondered how much longer he’d last.

“But _we_ weren’t Alphas. You know how rare Alphas are in Japan, do you realize the kind of doors you could get through?”

Sena and Shuuma had identical grimaces on their faces. Mihae tutted at them both.

“I’m not saying that’s more important than a _genuine_ connection, but if you don’t have that right now… why not take a chance? Let some rich, fancy family with a single Omega boy treat you! Or an Alpha! Though, maybe those fuddy-duddy rich people wouldn’t like an Alpha-Alpha boy pair to happen, hm,” Mihae hummed thoughtfully, tapping her mouth.

Sena rubbed a hand over his face and huffed rhetorically, “Will anything stop this?”

Well, he _thought_ it was rhetorical. But the moment he asked, his mother sat up straight, eyes gleaming like Pitt’s when the catnip toys came out.

“Actually, do you remember how I used to talk about my old senpai? Shuuma, honey, do you remember Gouwara-senpai? She married into that _old_ name wealthy family.”

“Yes, dear, of course I remember Gouwara-san,” Shuuma said with an exasperated fondness. “The Alpha that got away.”

“Oh hush you!” Mihae giggled and flapped a hand even as her cheeks heated. “It’s been years and you’re acting so jealous. You know I’m so very happy with you.”

Any other time, Sena would be smiling at his parents’ display of affection. The lingering moment where they smiled at each other with the love of 22 years filling up the space between them would make his heart yearn for something like that, too. This time, though…

“A blind date,” Sena said, deadpanned and wooden. Mihae and Shuuma’s gaze broke and Mihae smiled eagerly. “That’s what this is all about. Marriage consultant or a _blind date_ with your old senpai’s kid.”

“When you say it like that, you make me sound so _devious._ Am I devious, Shuuma?”

“Maybe in this case, my dear.”

“Oh! You think? How exciting! I’m _devious_.”

“ _Okaasan_.” Sena flopped onto the nearest chair and buried his face in his hands. He groaned the groan of the bereaved. What had died? His dignity. At the hands of his sweet, innocent-faced mother, who had just out-maneuvered him.

“Sena, of course there’s no ‘either/or’ ultimatum.” Sena looked up at his father, hopeful and baffled. “She already sent your information to the consultation association, but you won’t be contacted by the interested parties directly. It’ll all be through the association and you can decline the offers.”

“And if this blind date works out, we can request your information be retracted!” Mihae added giddily.

“ _Okaasan_.”

“Okaasan twice now? Honey, why are you so upset?”

“I’m not… Well, only this much,” Sena held up a hand and pinched the air with his thumb and index finger, a sliver of space between them. “I’m just _embarrassed_.”

“Son, don’t you think this could be a good thing? There’s a reason why you haven’t had dates despite…” Shuuma glanced at Mihae, whom nodded encouragingly, “being a catch.” Mihae beamed and Sena groaned into his hands again. “You’re too much like me, son. Too shy, too quiet. The marriage consultants took a lot of pressure off _and_ I found your mother.” Mihae beamed ever brighter and Shuuma flushed. Sena could see, when he peeped between his fingers, his father’s tiny, pleased smile. “If you honestly prefer being single, or trying on your own, I will personally go to the office today and stop the process.”

“Shuuma!”

Sena gulped. First, he looked at his father’s serious gaze, then his mother’s hopeful expression, finally down at his hands. Would it be so bad? Really? He’d always wanted what his parents had, and it’s not like he _liked_ being single. The idea that he could one day share that kind of story with _his_ kid ~~kids?~~ , that he’d be able to hold someone’s hand, smile at them like they had some secret, that he could _finally_ kiss someone— like he meant it, not because Suzuna had made them all play a dumb kissing game after surviving their first college finals. Sena blushed and tightened his hands into fists, jaw tensing.

“Okay. The… the blind date, the marriage consultant, whatever, I’ll give them a try. For the _summer_ only. Once school starts up again, I’m calling it off,” Sena said warningly.

“That’s a good compromise. Of course we won’t want to interfere with your last semester of school,” Shuuma agreed.

Mihae clapped in delight. “I must message Juu-senpai right away! She’ll be so pleased. Meeting people is so difficult for her son, he must be just a shy as you, Sena, and he’s _very_ handsome. I just know you’ll have a lovely time!”

Sena sighed. Who needed enthusiasm when his mother had enough for everyone and some more to spare? He smiled a moment later. But… maybe, just maybe, it would go well…? Wouldn’t it be great to have a nice first date?

* * *

It would _not_ go well and would _not_ be a nice first date. Sena stared at the front facade of the restaurant that— he checked his phone— yes, that his mother had sent him the address for. From the few patrons that had walked in or out of the place, while looking down their aristocratic noses at him, he was beyond underdressed. He was under _bred_ , as well as _over_ whelmed. He was wearing khaki-colored chinos and a dark blue polo tee, which would’ve been perfectly acceptable date attire he were at a _normal_ restaurant. Now he looked like he didn’t even belong bussing the tables. What even language was the name of this place? German? French? _Chinese?_ Wait, no, he’d recognize Chinese, _calm down_ , Sena!

He pressed a hand to his heart, took a deep breath, and walked in. He may have come almost 20 minutes early— he hadn’t wanted to get lost or something!— but he most definitely didn’t have enough time to run back to his dorm and change. Hopefully his date wouldn’t be a stickler about his clothing choices. Sena approached the hostess— and yes, she _was_ better dressed than he was— and tried not to quiver. He was 21, not a tiny sixteen-year-old who hadn’t even Presented yet. He could talk to a (sneering) hostess. And not pick nervously at his cuticles! He swiped his hands on his chinos to stop the picking.

“Hi, um, hi. I’m Kobayakawa, I have a reservation under Shin-?”

As he spoke, the hostess’s eyes widened, outright gasping when ‘Shin’ left his mouth. “ _You?_ _You’re_ the one who’s been keeping him waiting?”

Sena frowned slightly. “Waiting? I’m 20 minutes early?”

“You’re _forty minutes late_!” she seethed, snatching up a menu.

Sena heard something shatter, an ominous cracking in his brain.

“What.”

“What are you doing just _standing_ there? Come on, now!” the hostess hissed. “If only we had time to dig through the lost and found, but you’ll have to do. You’ve already made a terrible first impression!”

Sena was _not_ going to whimper. He definitely felt like this was a good moment for it, but he wasn’t going to. Nope. He zipped after the bustling away hostess, absently grateful for all his years on track and cross-country. His body had him moving quickly and assuredly on her heels without his brain even back online. He heard her sharply inhale before she all but ran to a table, talking quickly to a man standing next to it.

Sena felt all the blood drain from his face. The man at the table looked _pissed_. Also ridiculously gorgeous. But mainly _mad_. He was maybe half a foot taller than Sena, and about twice his weight in sheer muscle. _How the hell_. He wore black slacks, black button-up, and his messy spiky hair had an undercut. He looked like a hitman. A bodyguard? Was Sena’s date so wealthy he had his _own bodyguard?_ His mother should’ve warned him! And also, he needed to warn his damn libido to _calm down_ , because showing up 40 minutes late and in the wrong kind of clothes was bad enough, but drooling over his would-be date’s bodyguard would definitely make it a whole lot worse.

“Kobayakawa-san is here now. He must have mistaken the time, Shin-san, since he was under the impression he was early,” the hostess was saying rapidly, gesturing towards Sena.

Sena blinked and leaned a little to the side to see around the bodyguard’s broad shoulders. There was no one else there (though plenty of people were side-eyeing them by now).

“Hn. Were you not told the correct time?”

Sena felt a thrill run down his spine and he looked towards the speaker. The tall, broad-shouldered man was staring directly at him, dark-eyed gaze stoic and impassive.

“Ah, maybe? My mother sent me a message— ah… Isn’t 1700 six o’clock? Oh wait…” And the blood returned to his face with a vengeance. “Oh no.”

He… he was so worried and anxious that he. Fucked. Up. The. Math. How could he… just… subtract 12 incorrectly?! He slowly raised wide brown eyes as steam all but poured out of his ears.

“I’m too gay to math?” he squeaked apologetically. And then his jaw dropped and both his hands flailed wildly. “Not that gay people can’t do math! It’s a meme, well, not a _meme_ meme, but like a meme! Oh god, I’m sorry, that was so inappropriate! If Shin-san could—” and with that his phone slipped out of his sweaty hand, clattered across the table, cracked a plate, knocked over a condensation-covered glass of water, and the silverware fell with a rousing cacophony to the floor.

The hostess, the bodyguard, and Sena stood there mutely, watching as water spread over the tablecloth. With a shriek, Sena darted forward to rescue his phone. The bodyguard turned to the fuming hostess and simply said,

“We’ll need a new table.”

“Yes, of course, Shin-san.”

Sena vowed to never return to this place, even if the zombie hordes descended all equipped with Hiruma’s favorite gu- “Shin-san?” Sena shrilled, spinning around with his dripping phone pressed to his chest. The man he _thought_ was a bodyguard raised a single eyebrow.

“Yes?”

Oh. God.

 _This was the shy, handsome Omega boy his mother told him about!?_ If this man didn’t have many friends, it was because he didn’t _want_ them. Because there was nothing shy about him. He had more physical presence than _Sena_.

“Oh,” Sena squeaked uselessly.

“Shin-san, Kobayakawa-san, right this way,” the hostess said, appearing within seconds, like she’d popped out of a very efficient portal.

They sat down at another table identical to the last one. Sena cringed his way onto a chair, only to hop back up, a second too late as Shin sat himself across the table. Shin’s eyebrow went up again and Sena slithered back into his seat, blushing profusely.

“You… you don’t have to stay,” Sena whispered as the hostess handed them new, dry menus. The fierce glare she shot Sena didn’t stop him from continuing, though he stumbled a bit more, “I-I kn-know I m-messed up.”

“You came twenty minutes early.”

Sena blinked. “Huh?”

“You may have made a mistake initially, but you arrived twenty minutes early, according to what you thought was the right time. Your intentions are as important as your actions.”

Sena blinked again. “Huh?” He shook his head quickly. “I mean, thanks. Shin-san, that’s… that’s kind of you to say.”

“Hn.”

“I’ll be back with water. Anything else to drink?”

“Tea?” Sena blurted. The hostess looked like she was trying not to sigh.

“Wine would be better suited for the entrees we offer-”

“Tea. Not green,” Shin said firmly. He looked at Sena. “I don’t drink wine.”

“Me, either,” Sena agreed with a shake of his head. If he drank alcohol at all, it was shitty konbini beer with his friends, not fancy wine worth an entire paycheck from his part-time job. The hostess bowed and left.

Shin looked down at his menu, scowling. But Sena was smiling slightly, more fixated on drinking in the look of the man across from him than having a heart attack over food he most definitely wouldn’t recognize (and the prices, even if he wasn’t going to pay). Sena had a type, and he knew it. Shin was his type and then about 1000x better than that. A bit too reticent, but… surprisingly kind. It had a warm bubbly feeling building in his chest.

Shin looked up, his mouth opening. He closed it and frowned at Sena.

“Is something… the matter? Is it your phone?” he asked slowly. Sena shook his head harder.

“No, no! Everything’s fine!” Sena wiped his phone off on his pants and then shoved it in his pocket. “I just… I’m surprised you waited for me. I was wondering why.”

Shin frowned _more_. “My mother made me promise to stay.”

“She made you promise to stay…?”

Sighing through his nose, Shin tried again. “She and my father both think I work too much. They’re worried I’m not happy and think that seeing someone will help. So she made me promise to give this date real effort.”

“And real effort means waiting 40 minutes for the idiot who can’t do math?”

“Well, I didn’t know you were an idiot who can’t do math,” Sena snorted loudly, “and I was about to leave. Forty minutes was long enough.”

Sena winced. “I’m really so sorry for being so stupid-”

“It’s a simple mistake to make if you’re not used to it, don’t insult yourself so much.” His gaze was intense and Sena couldn’t help the wibbly smile that curled up the sides of his mouth. Shin glanced away suddenly. “I think my mother forgets not everyone is in international business where exact timing is crucial.”

“Really? International business? I thought maybe you were in the military!”

“No.” His mouth softened slightly as his eyes glanced back to Sena. He looked down at the menu again and his brows pulled together. “I’ve never been here before. Have you?”

Sena laughed outright. Before he could answer, a waiter came up to the table with a pitcher of ice water— so weird, this place was too Western— and a tray with a pot of tea and two tea handle-less cups (at least the tea cups were Japanese).

“Do you need more time to order?”

Shin glared at the waiter— a man a few years older than them— in bewilderment. “You’re not Aiki-san.”

Both waiter and Sena stared at Shin.

“Um, the hostess returned to her post. I’m Fujimoto, your waiter for the evening.”

Shin scowled, eyes scanning over Fujimoto’s hair and shoulders and then his nametag. He turned away with a soft ‘hn’, looking distinctly pissed again.

“Um, could you recommend something for us? Neither of us have been here?” Sena asked timidly.

The waiter looked a little bemused, but quickly and professionally launched into the specials and brief explanations. Somehow, in the middle of the spiel, Sena picked up that this was an Italian place and ‘pizza’ was one of the specials. A weird mushroom pizza with weirder sounding cheese, but he _knew_ pizza. He quickly ordered that in relief.

“That’s a lot of carbohydrates…” Shin noted. Sena grinned and shrugged.

“Who doesn’t like carbs?”

Shin’s eyebrows rose.

“I guess, you? You don’t like carbs?” Sena realized slowly, smile slipping away. Shin’s eyes seemed to fall to Sena’s mouth before looking back up at the waiter.

“I’ll have whatever that salad was,” he looked at Sena, “and more bread.”

Sena sputtered before bursting out laughing, red-faced. The menus and waiter disappeared.

“I don’t need more bread! Anyway, I’m the Alpha here. I should be ordering stuff for you.”

“You ordered the tea. I like most tea,” Shin said in the most serious voice imaginable. Sena just laughed helplessly.

“I’m pretty sure you’re joking, but I really can’t tell.”

“I never joke.” But his mouth twitched as he lifted his tea to his mouth.

“There. You _are_ joking, I saw—” Sena pointed with a sharp jab of his arm. Which of course smacked into the centerpiece of prettily-dried flowers, which fell into the _actual candle_ on the table, which _somehow lit the whole bouquet thing on fire_. With a shrill yelp, Sena jumped to his feet, grabbed Shin’s arm and yanked them both away from the table. People around them were letting out cries of alarm, one woman several tables away swooned, _why_? Shin was still holding his tea cup, though half of it had splashed over his hand and wrist. With a sigh, he dumped the rest of it over the actually pretty small fire. Their waiter had already re-appeared, frazzled and wild-eyed.

“We need a new table,” Shin said simply. Sena groaned and covered his face with his hand.

Over the course of the dinner, Sena: over-poured the tea and made a puddle on the new table, dropped his extra bread five times, prompting Shin to order _more fucking bread_ , all the cheese on a pizza slice he held slid right off the crust onto his lap and burnt his poor thighs, and somehow missed his own mouth while trying to drink tea twice. He was sure he’d be permanently burnt red for the rest of his life. The entire time, Shin’s eyebrows rose, his mouth twitched, or he ignored it all with a deadpanned seriousness that had Sena wanting to cry with relief. He was probably in love and ready to propose marriage. If only he could stop making an _ass_ of himself.

Somehow, during the course of the dinner, Sena also found out: Shin liked cats, volunteered at a community center, despised his salad but ate every bite, had gone to college and graduated with a Business degree, but hadn’t applied for any job with his degree, and was a total mama’s boy. Sena only deduced that last tidbit because he, too, was a mama’s boy and could see the very clear signs (he spoke fondly about his mother more than 5 times, and mentioned his father once). Shin didn’t look anything like an Omega, in fact, if their secondaries were switched, it be more believable by far. But Sena kept wondering just what would take to get up close and scent him.

Every time that thought crossed his mind, Sena would sputter and blush and drop whatever he was holding. Shin ordered 3 baskets of bread by the end of dinner, and there was a small cup full of forks that Fujimoto had discreetly placed on the table after the fourth fork dropped.

Sena might’ve had that particular thought too many times…

He was pretty sure his waiter, the busboy, the manager, and the hostess were all sobbing behind his back when the two of them finally asked for the check.

Miserably, Sena shuffled towards the door, shoulders up around his ears. He’d never see this perfect Omega again, and he hadn’t even gotten close enough to scent him. He bet Shin smelled _amazing_. Some other Alpha, who could drink tea like a real human being and _not drop pizza on their lap_ , would come back here and woo Shin properly. While Sena cried himself to sleep with chocolate tonight.

And went on some consultant-chosen date _not_ with Shin sometime in the future.

“I don’t think I should’ve listened to my mother,” Shin said as they walked out onto the sidewalk. Sena flinched, his shoulders rising higher.

“Oh. Yeah. Probably not,” he agreed quietly.

“I don’t like Italian.”

Sena blinked. Slowly, he raised his head and stared at Shin’s disgruntled profile. “You mean the restaurant.”

“Of course I mean the restaurant.” The implied ‘what else would I mean’ had Sena’s mouth curving upwards.

“I thought you meant the date.”

Shin frowned. “The date?”

“Yeah, that _trainwreck_ that just happened?” Sena said, half-laughing as he gestured at the restaurant.

“What trainwreck? The nearest train station is approximately 3 kilometers-”

“No, I meant _me_. I’m the trainwreck!” Sena’s hands flailed through the air. “I was the worst date ever!” Understanding dawned in Shin’s eyes.

“I’m sure I could imagine something worse,” Shin said at last. Sena gaped at him. “I said to stop insulting yourself. I thought tonight would be boring and a waste of time. It wasn’t. So thank you.”

Sena squeaked. “So dropping pizza on myself is funny to you?”

“Mm, yes. Are you sure you’re okay? That sound you made had me worried,” Shin said, looking down at Sena’s thighs. AT HIS THIGHS.

“I’m fine!” Sena said quickly. He didn’t realize what he was doing before he did it: grabbing Shin’s face in both his hands and lifting it up to meet his eyes instead of _looking at his thighs_. He froze, breath catching as those dark eyes met his. “S-sorry,” he whispered, hands twitching away.

Although his hands had fallen, he and Shin remained standing still, close enough that Sena could hear Shin’s quiet breaths. If he could just lean a little forward, or pull Shin down closer…

“I’ve never met someone like you before,” Sena whispered, eyes darting over Shin’s face.

And like that, Shin’s expression shuttered closed. He stepped back and looked away, hands clenched in fists at his side.

Sena rocked forward on his toes, feeling bereft, then hurriedly stood up straight and bit his lip. “I… I better get to the subway station, approximately 3 kilometers away, right?”

“Hn.”

“I… um. Did you want to— No, I guess not,” Sena broke off with a weak chuckle before Shin could answer, before he could finish his own question. “I’ll just… I’ll go then. Bye, Shin-san.”

Sena turned and stepped away. He stopped, and looked back at Shin, remembering his manners at the last second. He flinched at Shin’s dark scowl already staring down at him. “Do you… do you need me to walk you to the subway station? Order an Uber?”

Shin’s eyebrows rose. “My family has a car.”

“Oh. Of course.” Sena deflated and gave him a halfhearted little wave. “Bye then.”

He turned and _ran_. Like a coward.

* * *

Sena leaned against the warm brick of the building behind him and sighed. On his phone, the four windows that showed him and his three best friends, also showed all three of them _laughing_ uproariously at him as he hung out in his window looking dejected. It didn’t help that he was wearing his earbuds. It just made the laughter louder and clearer. Exactly what he needed.

“Oh man, the pizza. I can’t. Taka, I finally heard of a worse first date than ours,” Monta shouted off screen. The faint sound of ‘ _impossible_ ’ answered, and Monta laughed again.

“I’m sure it wasn’t _that_ bad. You’ve always been a bit accident prone, but even you couldn’t have been that bad, Sena!” Suzuna said, wheezing and wiping at her eyes.

“It was. It was very very bad,” Sena sighed. His head fell back with a thunk. “And he was perfect, too. Now, I’ll never see him again.”

“Your mother knows his, that’s how the date happened in the first place, right?” Riku pointed out, still smirking. “Just ask her to set up another one. Say it’s an apology date or something.”

Sena gnawed on his bottom lip. “I thought of that, actually. I’m not always dumb.” His friends snickered at him and he rolled his eyes. “I decided not to, though. He could contact me the same way, you know? If he hasn’t, it means he’s not interested. It might not have been boring, but, in the end, it must’ve just been too terrible to want a repeat. I’ll respect his choice.”

His chest felt too tight, and he woke up whining every morning for the past week, reaching for an Omega he _never had in the first place_ , but he’d respect Shin’s choice. Damn it.

“Where are you anyway, man?” Monta asked in confusion. Blessedly changing the topic. Suzuna and Riku could be ruthless, digging out confessions or forcing him to face down insecurities until he overcame them kicking and screaming, but Monta _understood_ Sena best. In a moment, he could see Sena’s face and know when it was time to move on. Probably what made him so good at his social work major and practicum, even if a lot of people who didn’t know him well underestimated him.

“Outside a cafe? It’s called ToeBeans... I think? It’s got a cute sign at least.” He tipped his phone over to show them the sign covered in cat pawprints and a coffee cup topped with too much foam.

“Why are you at what looks like a cat cafe? What am I asking, of course you’re at a cat cafe,” Suzuna laughed.

Sena’s eyes widened. “You think it’s a cat cafe!? I’ve never heard of this one! I have to put it on the list!”

“It’s definitely a cat cafe, but that’s not the point. Why are you there?” Riku asked with an eyeroll and a fond smile.

“A date,” Sena mumbled.

“Marriage consultant?” his friends chorused in different levels of confusion and dismay. And glee. Sena narrowed his eyes at Suzuna.

“Marriage consultant,” he confirmed. “I made a promise after all. I think my mom almost started crying when I came home and told her the date went badly. She apparently was really set on me falling in love at first sight and coming home promising little Shin-Kobayakawa babies in nine months or something.” Sena groaned and ran a hand over his face as his friends burst out laughing.

“She just wants you to be happy, Sena!” Suzuna protested, still giggling. “I’m sure she’s not expecting babies already.”

“Oh no, she definitely said ‘What happened!? You’d make such beautiful babies together, Sena!’ My dad had to distract her so I could run out. I’ve been hiding out at my dorm the whole week.”

“Well, you paid extra for the summer. Might as well,” Monta said with a grin. “Must be nice living alone. You miss me yet?”

“I don’t miss your dirty socks everywhere!”

“Shut up! You left chip crumbs in the couch!” ‘ _You also leave chip crumbs in the couch, Raimon_.’ “You shut up, too, Taka! Wait, no, don’t give me that look-” Monta disappeared a moment later.

Suzuna snickered. “Whipped.” Riku and Sena made eye contact through the phone. Suzuna wasn’t there for the wooing, having moved up to Sapporo for school. She had no idea just how whipped. “Anyway, a cat cafe! That’s a good sign!”

“Yeah, I didn’t even choose it!” Sena agreed, forcing a bright smile on his face.

“You didn’t know it was a cat cafe, we gathered that,” Riku said dryly. “Another Omega set up, Mr. Alpha-Catch?”

Sena’s ears burned. “No. Actually, an Alpha. We were pretty surprised, too, but we have some similar hobbies. Maybe they decided having something to talk about was more important than dynamics.”

“You don’t have a problem dating an Alpha, do you?” Suzuna asked, eyebrow rising.

“I don’t know, but I don’t think so? Secondary dynamics never really mattered to me. Omegas make my head all loopy when their pheromones are strong, but… It’s not like I have a preference for that.”

“No, you just have preference for penis,” Suzuna said sagely. Riku and Sena sputtered. Monta flopped back into sight looking ruffled and confused.

“What about penis?”

“And I’m out. I’m gonna see if it’s really a cat cafe, but mainly, I don’t wanna talk about my preference for pe-” He broke off and glanced around the not-too-busy sidewalk. Suzuna merely cackled, unrepentant.

“Good luck, man! Don’t drop pizza on yourself!”

“Or set anything on fire!”

“Just… calm down, Sena. You’ll be fine.”

Sena sighed and nodded smiled at his friends, deciding to take Riku's _good_ advice to heart and ignoring the other two. He ended the call and made his way into the shop. He climbed a set of stairs that opened into a foyer where a gate that reached about hip-high stopped him just past the shoe cabinet. The shop really was a cafe, with big, bright windows and several tables and booths, and cat trees in every corner. There were a few toys scattered here and there, some sitting on chairs for patrons to pick up, and he caught sight of at least six different cats.

Even if his date ended up ~~not being Shin~~ being a bust, there were _cats_ this time. He’d come… about an hour early this time, since he was still breaking out into a cold sweat every time he remembered _you’re forty minutes late!_ So that meant he had quite a bit of time to cuddle cats unabashedly before his date showed up.

He was led over to the counter and asked to buy something on the menu as a sort of entry fee. Since he figured the upcharge on the items was mainly to buy things for the cats— all of which looked healthy, clean, and happy, thank goodness— he willingly forked over too much cash for a strawberry-mint drink and found a table. A large, silky, grey-tabby cat immediately found its way onto his lap and he was in total heaven. _Cuz cats_.

About an hour later— and two more cats vying for his affection— the door opened again. A very pretty girl with blonde hair and slightly darker brown eyebrows walked in. She cooed her way through a sea of cats— his two new friends joining the sea, though his grey-tabby friend stayed on his lap with a louder purr— and looked around the cafe curiously. Light amber eyes met Sena’s and he blinked in surprise as this pretty girl cocked her head to the side and seemed to be waiting for him to say something.

“Um… Kobayakawa-san?” the girl said. Sena’s jaw dropped.

“K-Koizumi-san?”

“Oh, it _is_ you! I was about to be so embarrassed!” Koizumi exclaimed, cheeks flushing as she clapped her hands. She rushed towards his table, her satchel pressed against a thigh with one hand protectively. “Koizumi Karin,” she greeted formally, bowing. “Karin-chan is okay. I like cute names, nothing too formal!” She beamed happily.

Sena stared. “K-Kobayakawa, Sena. Sena’s fine…”

“It’s so nice to meet you! I was hoping choosing a cat cafe would scare yet another terrible Alpha date away, but you’re so adorable! I’m so glad!”

“You’re… _you’re_ an Alpha? Oh, that’s rude, that’s really rude! Sorry! I’m really sorry!” He bowed over the cat in his lap, whose purrs stuttered with an annoyed cat noise. He froze mid-awkward-bow, face heated.

“No, no, I’m sorry! I was rude first! And now I’m upsetting your friend!” She bowed a few times to him _and_ to the very grumpy-faced cat. She settled in a chair across from him quickly. “Here, no need to move. No need to apologize, either. I know I don’t look like much of an Alpha.” That beautiful smile glowed over her features.

“All Alphas should look like you.”

She blinked, then blushed and smiled. “Wow! How smooth!”

“No! No, not smooth!” Sena babbled, hands waving. The cat grumbled and jumped off his lap. “I’m actually gay, very gay, I had no idea you’d be a girl. I’m so sorry, this is a terrible first impression, I didn’t mean to flirt!”

Karin’s head tilted to the side, then she burst into giggles behind her hands. “What a shame you don’t date girls. You’re the nicest Alpha I’ve ever met.”

“We _just_ met.”

“Have you met many Alphas?”

Sena and Karin’s noses scrunched in distaste at the same time. They shared a commiserating look.

“Not _all_ Alphas are like that. We really aren’t.”

“Thank goodness we found each other then.”

They shared a smile. Sena frowned a moment later. “I’m sorry this can’t be a real date, though.”

“Why not? At the very least, we can be friends and pet cats together. Probably the best date I’ve had in weeks!”

“Parents shoved you in the marriage market, too?”

Karin sighed and flicked a strand of blonde hair away from her face. He wondered, idly, if she were half-foreigner. It didn’t look dyed…

“Yes. I’m twenty-two, freshly graduated from art school, and my parents are determined to set me up. They’ve always been disappointed in my Presentation. I have to say, being an _Omega_ girl is a lot easier than being an _Alpha_ one in our kind of circles,” Sena winced at the misconception, but was too polite to interrupt, “and my parents are definitely traditionalists. They’re hoping if they set me up with the right Alpha boy, I can forget all about my secondary and be a trophy wife. It’s _horrible_. Though, it would be nice to be a trophy wife if I could draw all day and not worry about bills. Mangaka don’t always make it big, you know.” She leaned on her elbow and propped her chin on her hand, pouting.

“You want to be a mangaka?”

“Excuse me, you havta buy something…” a loud, bold voice interrupted. Karin and Sena turned to see a small boy, smaller than even Sena, standing behind Karin.

“Oh! Oh no! I’m so sorry!” Karin exclaimed, jumping out of her seat to bow.

“It’s my fault! I should’ve said something sooner, I’m very sorry,” Sena said quickly, bowing with her.

The younger boy held up his hands and flushed bright red. “It’s okay! You don’t have to apologize, you can just… buy something?”

“Oh, yes, I should, um,” Karin turned to Sena.

“Do you like strawberries?”

“I love them!”

“I’ll get the drinks, then. Why don’t you sit down and get the cats to come back?” Sena suggested. Karin lit up happily.

“Great idea! I’ll get food later if we get hungry.”

The cafe worker returned to the counter, flushing hotly, and whispered desperately with the other blushing people behind the counter. “ _They’re both so cute! Are they really Alphas, Chuubou, can you tell? I think I’m going to die they’re so cute._ ” Then, they all hissed each other quiet as Sena came up to order.

The rest of the ‘date’ went really well. Sena and Karin really did have a lot in common, including both being in track in high school, though Karin gave it up in college and Sena was still actively on Enma’s team. They both liked drawing, though Karin was actually _good_ at it and Sena just made doodles when he was bored. Mostly, they just really liked cats. They shared pictures of their own cats (thousands of pictures, and they were sad when they got to the end), and played with the cats in the shop. They both liked strawberries and ice cream, but who doesn’t!? And they both groaned about their overbearing parents, though Karin’s were a lot more overbearing than his.

Finally, it was time to go get real food to eat and Karin offered to take him to a good soba shop nearby. As they walked out, taking their last lingering pictures of the cats inside, Karin sighed softly.

“We can always come back! Maybe there will be more cats next time,” Sena said gently.

Karin laughed lightly, but immediately saddened again. “Thank you for the offer, but knowing my parents, they’ll have me on another date in no time. I’m getting so sick of losing my drawing time to these dates!” She looked a little amazed at herself for the outburst and flushed guiltily.

“I know they’re expecting a lot out of you, but they live out in Osaka, and you live here now. It must be a little easier to get away with… some things?” Sena said.

“Yes, but they’ll know if I’m dating someone or not. They stalk my social media pretty regularly. I keep my art stuff mostly quiet, they think I’m doing, I dunno, watercolors for fancy, privately-owned galleries,” she whispered the last bit from behind her hand.

“It’s not lying if you just… don’t correct them,” Sena agreed, though he was blushing guiltily with her.

“But I can’t keep the fact I’m still happily single on the quiet! That’s the opposite of what I need.”

“I know how you feel. I actually considered asking a friend to pretend to be my boyfriend just so I wouldn’t have to go through with blind dates… but… then my mother would be… Karin-san?” Sena asked, slowly growing more concerned at the look on Karin’s face.

“That’s a _great_ idea, Sena-san!” Karin whispered, eyes shining. Sena stared. “I could tell my parents about _this_ date, about how great it was, and make them think it went so well that we’re going to start dating. It’s not lying if I just don’t… _correct_ them. Sena-san, could I?”

“You want me,” Sena pointed at his nose, “to be your,” he pointed at Karin’s, “Alpha boyfriend beard?” He blinked. 

“I understand if it’s too strange! We just met, but my parents know all my friends’ social media handles,” Karin said, hugging her satchel to her chest.

“I… uh. Should I tell my parents we are, so my dates stop?”

“Oh no, you don’t have to! Unless. Do you want to?” Karin asked curiously. Sena hesitated, then slowly shook his head.

“It’s still a bit embarrassing, but… I do…” Sena rubbed the back of his neck and laughed awkwardly. “I do want to actually start dating. This is probably easiest for me, like my dad said.”

“Well, you wouldn’t have to stop! My parents are in Osaka, and I’ll tell them you’re very private, that it’s too new to let them go snooping around. They’ll be so excited that you’re an Alpha, they’ll probably give me a few months’ breathing room. Which means I’ll be able to make my deadline!” Karin got more and more excited as she spoke. “If I can get these chapters done, and if the tankouban likes it, then I won’t have to rely on my parents for rent money anymore. I could live in Tokyo on my own dime and date whoever I wanted, or _no one_.”

Sena glanced down at his feet and gnawed on his lip. “I… I’m not very good at lying, but… yeah… I can help. If it’s only for a few months. Those few pages you showed me looked amazing, I’m sure you’ll get the job!”

Karin blushed happily. “Sena-san, you’re so great! Thank you!” She bowed low, several times.

Sena quickly bowed back, one hand behind his head and the other flailing. “No, no, of course I’ll help. It’s what a friend should do! And it’s not even that difficult.”

“I already have some great pictures in the cat cafe. Do you mind if I post a few on my twitter to make it a bit more believable?”

“Yeah, my twitter— Oh, wait. Maybe just tell them I don’t have a twitter? That way they can’t stalk me without you knowing? You can put my name, since they know it already, but don’t bother tagging or atting me.”

“Genius!” Karin exclaimed. Sena sweated lightly. _Really? Genius?_ For the first time, Karin broke their carefully constructed social boundaries and linked her arm with his. “Let’s eat soba and discuss all the genius ways we’ll trick my parents into thinking we’re dating!”

“Eheh, yeah, okay.”

* * *

> Karin(=^▽^=): my parents bought it! they werent so impressed with ur family name but no worries
> 
> i told them that the uni listed on ur cv was an error
> 
> congrats! Ure a todai student now! ٩(๑^o^๑)۶
> 
> Me: im a WHUT
> 
> Karin-san thats def a lie now
> 
> Karin(=^▽^=): dont worry youll nvr meet them
> 
> g2g
> 
> meeting with agent(@[]@!!)
> 
> Me: ganbatte! U can do it karinsan!

Sena tucked his phone away and shook his head. He definitely didn’t regret making a new friend, but he was getting worried about the growing lie. He and Karin already had about 5 more fake dates planned, so she could upload them all to her socials, but really, they were going to be hanging out at cafes and libraries, him working on his thesis and her working on her deadline. They will probably be refreshing breaks from a series of terrible first dates, but it was still a lot. He really hoped she’d get that job and make it worth it.

He checked his watch and frowned lightly. This newest first date was already not starting well. For one, his date was cutting it close on time. Would he be the one waiting? He supposed it was his turn, maybe even to get stood up. Second, the location had him sweating. He knew nothing about art. Should he have looked it up? Damn, he should've asked Karin-san! He pulled his phone back out and began to frantically look up what information he could find. Oh god, too much. He recognized maybe two of those images on his google search. Everything else just looked the same.

_Tak tak tak tak tak._

Was that— did he hear the sound of running? Sena looked up from his phone: was there something happening? Across the open courtyard, between the man-made pond and the front steps, the runner came to a stop. Through the crowd, their eyes met and Sena felt his jaw drop, his grip on his phone going limp. A moment later, Shin’s eyes swept right over him, but he stood there, panting and huffing, patches of sweat along the collar of his white t-shirt as he scanned the crowd. He looked… almost frazzled for a man whose resting bitch face could make a stone statue give up in a contest. He was _still_ staring around the little courtyard, eyes wide and cheeks flushed. It was a pretty hot day in July and he’d just been running… Sena gulped, put on his big boy pants, and made his way through the crowd of selfie sticks. As if seeing Sena’s movement towards him, Shin’s eyes snapped towards him. His eyes skimmed up and down Sena’s body, and suddenly his whole body slumped, strings holding him upright cut.

In the next moment, he was striding across the courtyard, not even bothering to weave, his focus solely on Sena. People and children scattered like startled puppies away from him.

“H-Hi, Shin-san. I wasn’t expecting to see you here,” Sena muttered, his face red with shame.

Shin frowned. “Were you expecting someone?”

“My- um. My date,” Sena whispered, hands wringing at the hem of today’s polo (he really needed a new date look). He couldn’t bring himself to look up, instead licking his dry lips and glancing towards his phone. “Takami-san is late, though, so maybe I could help you while I wait? You looked a little lost?”

“Takami?”

Sena flinched and looked up. “Yes?”

Shin reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose. “He’s not coming.”

“What.”

“I know Takami. He told me to come here, at this time,” he scowled darkly. “He _said_ it was an emergency. Are you all right?”

“Am _I_ all right? I mean, I don’t even know him, so I can’t exactly be upset that I got stood up. He sent a friend, anyway. I’m sorry, you don’t have to stay.”

Shin looked over at the building. “This was your date?”

“Um. Yes. It was going to be?”

“Let’s go in.”

“Wha- _hii_ , I’m coming!” Sena darted after him. Shin’s long legs ate up the ground and he barely looked at Sena as he led the way to the ticket office. As Shin reached for his pocket, Sena’s hand snapped out. Shin startled and looked over at Sena again. “I’ll pay. To thank you for staying because I got stood up,” he said firmly, jaw tight and brows low.

“I… think I forgot my wallet, so I won’t argue,” Shin said slowly, and let his hand fall naturally to his side. Sena pulled away with an amused huff, cheeks hot, and stepped up to the ticket line. He paid for two audio devices as well, and picked up brochures to help them figure out the labyrinth of exhibits.

He handed over the headset and device that looked almost identical to Sena’s last phone model. Shin took it gingerly and while Sena glanced through his brochure. “Most of the art is ancie-”

_Crack._

Sena looked up, eyebrows flying high. And then higher seeing the broken mess in Shin’s hands.

“Um. I…” Sena frowned. He could’ve sworn it looked brand new, maybe he hadn’t looked closely? “I’ll get you a new one.”

“I don’t need one,” Shin said, voice sounding tight.

“Oh… have you been here recently?” Sena asked, trying to hide his relief.

“... no…”

“... okay, well, I think getting the audio guide might be helpful… I don’t know anything about art and there’s not too much information about the individual pieces in the brochures. You didn’t take any Art History courses in college, did you?”

“No. Not at all.”

“See, audio tours, good idea for two art-newbs like us,” Sena said, grinning in reassurance and taking the audio player from Shin’s outstretched hand. The museum helper looked just as bewildered as Sena, but apologized profusely and gave him a new audio player. He came back, dropped it into Shin’s oddly hesitant hand, and then flipped open the pamphlet again. “It’s mostly divided by era, though I guess most museums are like that, so it makes sense. Do you want to start from the most recent or-”

_Crack. Fzzzt._

Sena slowly raised his head, eyes wide, to see Shin looking distinctly uncomfortable. The player was actually… smoking?

“Put that down!” Sena exclaimed, slapping it out of Shin’s hand. It fell with a loud shatter, pieces bouncing and sliding in every direction. They both stared at what remained at their feet.

“I’m… not good with electronics,” Shin said finally.

Sena sweated. “You… you don’t say.”

When Shin came back from paying for the destroyed devices, Sena handed him the brochure and promised to explain whatever the audio player said. However, within twenty minutes, Sena knew he should have put his foot down before the ticket window. Or even after the broken audio players. He should’ve _made_ Shin leave. He could’ve saved a lot of yen and a _lot_ of frustration for both of them. Not only had Shin not said a single word since Sena handed over the brochure, but he barely even _looked_ at the art hanging behind the protective glass. He did linger at the occasional sculpture, even longer if the sculpture was of an animal, but he barely even glanced at the... Sena consulted the little description at the nearest piece... ukiyo-e portraits. A lot of them were women; according to the audio tour— and wow, Sena’s mouth was so dry, who knew there was so much information behind _everything_ — this particular artist tended to exclusively draw women in various moods and poses.

Shin wasn’t… some sort of misogynist, was he? Sena was very firmly bent in one direction, but he still _liked_ women in general.

Sena kept his less than kind thoughts to himself, but breathed a sigh of relief when they left that hall and went into some older works. He began dreaming of the taste of water about an hour into the tour, when Shin stopped dead. Sena crept up close and looked at what had captured Shin’s attention at last.

 _Flowers_. Sena’s mouth twitched. Who knew. “From what I can tell, this guy basically perfected this kind of art. It’s…” he paused to listen, “Rinpa? The name of the style is actually de-um, derived? From his name, because he made it so famous. I think? I’m kinda paraphrasing.”

“Hn.” Shin pointed at one with a border of white flowers. “Chrysanthemums. My mother’s favorites. Normally they’re yellow, aren’t they? Or pink?”

“I think that’s just what’s more familiar, I think our emperors used yellow as a seal or something? But I don’t know much about flowers. Or history, either.”

“My father likes to garden. We have a gardener, but my father enjoys working together with him almost every day. He likes to bring my mother flowers just after they bloom.”

“You have… you have a gardener,” Sena burst into incredulous laughter. “No wonder you never tried to call me. We’re completely unsuited.”

“What.”

“C’mon, there’s lots more to see. I think there’s more Rinpa artists around the corner,” Sena said.

“Wait, what did you-”

He really should’ve stopped moving. That’s the only thing Sena could think in the aftermath; Shin’s large hand reached out to grab him, snagged the wire of his audio device instead, and yanked too hard on something much lighter than what he’d been expecting. The device flew out of his hand, smacked against the protective glass, and Shin and Sena watched in horror as it cracked, slowly, then quicker and quicker like a horror movie.

“Oh, god, watch out!” Sena shouted. The same time he leapt forward, Shin threw out an arm. His open palm caught Sena in the chest, knocking the air clean out of him. Wheezing, he slid over squeaky tile, stumbled, reached out a hand. And the cracking glass shattered. He saw Shin turn away, his back to the shower of glass, and Sena grabbed at the nearest surface. Which was _more. Friggin._ _Glass_.

He slipped, fingers skidding over the smooth, slick surface, and fell with a thud to his ass. “Ow _ow_!” Sena gasped, one eye closed and the other squinted almost shut. “I think I bruised something.”

And that’s when all hell broke loose. Sirens went off, people shrieking, museum guards rushing at Shin who was in the middle of shattered glass. Shards of it glittered on his clothes, in his spiky black hair, everywhere.

“What is going on!?”

“It was an accident!” Sena shouted, getting to his feet and limping forward. _Don’t rub your butt, don’t rub your butt_.

“Sir, you need to stay back, this area is dangerous,” a guard said, holding Sena back. He stared helplessly at Shin, who was standing very still, hands up in surrender.

“I know, but, that’s, he’s… he’s with me. It was an accident, I swear!”

“We saw him push that young man away,” one man said, somehow accusing. “He was trying to stop this… this deviant!”

Shin’s look of affront had the insane urge to laugh rising up in Sena’s throat.

“No, no, he was pushing me away from the glass, please, let me-”

“Sir, we’ll need your ID,” a guard was telling Shin. Who suddenly looked pained.

“I… I don’t have one. I wasn’t planning on being here. He bought our tickets,” Shin said, gesturing with his chin towards Sena.

“That’s right! Look, here’s mine,” Sena said, shoving forward as he dug in his jeans for his wallet.

“Sir, unless this is your Bonded Omega, you’re going to have to _step aside_ ,” a guard said, grabbing Sena’s arm roughly. At the same time, Shin let out a low pitch growl, his eyes flashing gold. The guard nearest Shin moved to subdue him, reaching for the back of his neck, and Sena moved without thinking.

Glass crunched under his sneakers. His vision went red. For the first time in his life, his hands were as fast as his feet, smacking away the guard while the other grabbed the front of Shin’s tee.

“ _Don’t_ ,” Sena snapped at the guard, bristling all over like an angry cat. He turned to look up at Shin, whose eyes were their normal dark, dark brown. “Did she touch you? We can sue her for that.” The guard let out a weak protest.

“I’m fine,” Shin said in a strangely soft voice. He was frowning down at Sena, in what looked like confusion. Sena just smiled encouragingly.

“We’ll get it all sorted out. No worries,” he said brightly, ignoring the way his whole body was trembling with leftover adrenaline and a flicker of fear. _What the hell had he just done?_

Shin slowly moved and dropped his head to Sena’s shoulder. Shards fell to the ground, some slipped from Shin’s hair to catch on Sena’s shirt, and Sena’s eyes widened. He was _so close,_ Sena could actually smell him now. Sweat and a layer of anxiety that had Sena bristling all over again— he didn’t even know Shin all that well, but it was so _wrong_ to think Shin could be _nervous_ — and an earthy, heady sort of scent that was uniquely and totally Shin. Sena’s whole body slumped in relief, and he turned to rub his cheek gently against Shin’s. He forgot about the glass, about the sirens, about the arguing guards, even the wide-eyed and staring patrons, all he cared about was Shin and _Shin_ and Shin smelled _so damn good_.

“Kobayakawa?”

“Eh?”

The voices came from down a tunnel and he was sure his eyes were open, but there were too many spots in his vision. He was falling and the only thing he could think was: _oh, I forgot to tell him my name?_

And then his head _really_ hurt and everything went black.

* * *

“When I woke up, I was in some employee-only closet on a tiny little cot. The guard said everything was being taken care of and a car was coming around for me, but I told him I was fine and ran out,” Shin mumbled as he stirred his strawberry drink. He’s stirred it so much and so vigorously the strawberries were basically strawberry _jam_ at this point. “I went to the school clinic and they gave me some painkillers, but no concussion. I’m fine.”

“You’re covered in bandages!” Mamori exclaimed in horror.

“It was more falling on _glass_ than the head knocking thing,” Sena said with a guilty cringe. "It'll be all healed up by tomorrow, probably."

“You just _left_? What about Shin-san!?” Karin said, her expression mirroring Mamori’s.

He cringed even more and ducked his head. Mamori had insisted on seeing him when he mother blabbed about his doctor’s visit, but he and Karin had already made plans for another ‘fake date’. He’d hoped Karin would give him an out, but she’d just cheerfully told him to invite along his friend. _I can never have too many new friends, and she’s an Alpha like me? Even better! I don’t know near enough girl Alphas!_

And now they were both ganging up on him, pointing out how much of an _idiot_ he’d acted.

“I heard him… there was a big, buff dude with him. I’m pretty sure it was his father, they looked a lot alike, though he was shorter than I thought he'd be... and the museum curator was bowing a lot. They looked just fine.”

“So… so you _left_. You left an anxious Omega in the middle of-” Mamori began hotly.

“He’s not _my_ Omega and he was with his _father_ , a much more competent person than me, anyway.” Sena raised his eyes to Mamori, looking tortured. “I fainted. I scented him and then I _fainted_ , Mamori-neechan. What was I supposed to do?”

“Stay! And get his number!” Karin said, waving her pencil in the air. Her latest panel was long neglected on the table in front of her. “You’re obviously crazy about him! You went all _Alpha mode_ for him!”

“Which is stupidly sexist and embarrassing. He’s twice my size and could take care of himself. I just… I saw him flashing his eyes and the guard was about to subdue him and I just completely lost my head!” Sena groaned and dropped his head to the table with a thunk. And then immediately groaned in real pain.

“You have a _head injury, Sena_!” Mamori somehow managed to whisper and screech at the same time.

“Now, I’m never gonna see him again. I don’t even know how we ended up meeting again, I mean, my marriage consultant date being his friend? And sending him along to apologize for standing me up? What are the odds of that ever happening again?” Sena mumbled against the linoleum of the table.

“Yes, what _are_ the odds?” Mamori murmured, covering her mouth with a hand and frowning. "You said his friend's name was Takami?"

"Yeah, Takami, Ichirou. One of the only Betas to respond so far, actually."

“It’s _fate_ , Sena-san! This time, you should contact him yourself!” Karin said.

“No _way_. Did you hear me say his _father was there_? Which means, he not only knows I’m the worst Alpha ever who faints at the scent of any Omega walking by, but I also just disappeared and left his perfect, beautiful Omega son alone. With him. _Like an idiot_.”

“Well, yes, you really should’ve stayed, Sena,” Mamori admitted with a sigh. “I couldn’t imagine leaving Gen in a situation like that, or even Youichi, and he’s a Beta. How in the world did you force yourself away?”

Sena closed his eyes and pressed his cheek harder against the smooth, cool surface of the table. “Shin-san, his father I mean, he was so in control and _loud_. I just…”

“Let him take care of it and slunk out like a sad puppy,” Mamori finished.

“Oh, don’t be so hard on him,” Karin said, reaching over to gently pat his head. “He’s definitely a sad kitty.”

“Thanks,” he mumbled into the tabletop. The girls giggled a little, but stopped soon. Slowly, he lifted himself up and squinted blearily at the Alphas across the table from him. “Well, is this a date or not? We gotta take some pictures for the 'gram.” And he smiled awkwardly.

Karin smiled back. “Let’s give you some more sugar and get color in your face first. Also, we need more cats.”

“I’ll get sugar. You get cats,” Mamori suggested.

Sena smiled a little bigger and let them take care of things. He really managed to win the lottery of friends.

* * *

Over the next month, Sena did his best to forget he ever met Shin. Which was impossible. So he did his best to _pretend_ to forget he ever met Shin. He went on so many dates, he was in a constant state of worry he’d mix up their names and come off as some kinda _Don Juan_ knothead or something. When, in fact, he just really wanted to be with _one specific_ person. He was the worst Alpha, _and_ the worst Don Juan.

There was that pretty interesting date with that guy named Akaba. They went to some Open Mic Night and listened to a bunch of pretty interesting amateurs, only to find out that Akaba had an ulterior motive the entire time when he pulled out a guitar from thin air and went on stage. He wasn’t bad! But he literally had more chemistry with the Betas on the stage playing with him than with _Sena_. Great date with a better ending, since Sena wasn’t all that sure he wanted to come to _more_ Open Mic Nights in the future.

Then, there was the nice picnic in the park with the _really tall_ blonde Sakuraba. He was nice and easy to talk to, but he kept checking his phone and frowning. In the end, he admitted he was seeing someone. A Beta his parents didn’t approve of. Just as they agreed to exchange contact information and meet up online for a few games they had in common, a horde of frothing at the mouth fangirls showed up and Sakuraba was suddenly shouting apologies and running away. Sena had had no idea until that moment he’d been on a date with a handsome, Omega celebrity… What. The. Fu-

On his last date, he’d ended up at another music venue, a small, cozy jazz club of all things. _Sena didn’t even like jazz_. The Omega date in question insisted Sena call him _Marco_ , but he was _definitely_ Japanese? He’d been smooth, suave, and handsome, Sena guessed, but not at all his type. He struggled for hours trying to respond to Marco’s attempts at conversation, but he talked about philosophy and jazz and… did Sena mention he _called himself Marco? Why?_

By the end of the night, the raspy-voiced woman on the stage sauntered over, leaned in close, and told Sena to go home. ‘ _I’m sorry, sweetie, you’re real cute, and if I shared, I’d invite you back with us. But I don’t share, and Marco is playing one of his silly games to make me jealous again._ ’

Sena had left with a _lot_ of relief, a little bit of annoyance, and, after some reflection, a weird sense of flattery. He’d been asked out to make some other Alpha jealous and it actually worked?? It was annoying and rude, but, still, he’d never made anyone jealous before. Just a _bit_ of an ego boost.

Today, he was waiting at the entrance to the zoo and kinda excited. His date was a(n actual) foreigner, a guy named Patrick, and Sena loved the zoo. He preferred pet shops and cafes, because it was easier to tell that the animals were being taken care of well or not, but you can’t exactly have an elephant cafe! … unless, were there such thing as _miniature_ elephants? Sena began browsing on his phone, waiting the fifteen or so minutes his date was supposed to show up by looking at adorable Pygmy Elephants, oh no, they’re endangered?

“Couldn’t wait until we actually got _inside_ the zoo?” a voice said from right behind Sena.

He shrieked, hands flailing and phone going flying. With a loud, carefree laugh, the person behind him snatched his phone from the air and handed it back. And Sena got his first look at Patrick, a tall Black man with hair in tight, close braids and a long, lean runner’s body.

“Your Japanese is good,” Sena blurted. Patrick’s smile widened and it looked so bright and white in his handsome, cheerful face, it made Sena instantly smile back.

“Thanks! I can’t read kanji for shit, _still_ , but I’ve been taking Japanese for years. My friend in high school got me into it and I came out for a year during college,” Patrick explained.

“Oh, so you live here?” Sena asked.

“Uh… no, actually,” Patrick ducked his head and his cheeks flushed. “I’m here for some sports meet, I’m a runner. It’s nothing. I just… missed being in Japan and speaking Japanese, so I thought, why not go on a date while I was here for the summer?”

“I hope I’m not a disappointing date, then, Mr… Mr. Spencer? If you won’t be able to be here long,” Sena said with an awkward smile.

“Hey, no way! You’re already looking at elephants, definitely my kind of guy, though, I like the big cats better. Actually, speaking of big cats, just call me Panther, everyone does,” he said quickly, that mega-watt smile back.

“Panther? Oh, like a _panther_! I also like cats, all cats. I have one, actually,” Sena said, showing his lockscreen that showed Pitt curled up in a tiny ball and sleeping.

Panther gave him a thumbs-up. “We’re going to have a great time.”

Sena laughed and led the way towards the ticket office. “If you need any help reading the Ja-ja-japanese…” Sena stuttered, his feet shuffling to a stop as all the hair on the back of his neck rose. He turned, but there was only the usual amount of foot traffic. There was a small bus full of excitedly chattering children and what looked like their teacher in athletic wear kneeling and tying a small child’s shoe. But almost everyone, including the wide-eyed children, was staring at Panther. So why did Sena feel like a bug under a microscope?!

“Yo, Sena, do you mind if I call ya Sena? We going in or what?” Panther said, waving from his place in line.

“Y-yes!” Sena darted after him, skirts and shirts fluttering in his wake.

The afternoon was pretty amazing. Knowing that this was just a casual date, that would probably end in a long distance _friendship_ rather than aiming for a serious relationship, actually helped a _lot_ with his nerves. Maybe, maybe, there was some sort of chemistry there, but Panther’s Omega scent was kept pretty blocked, a requirement of his sports’ meet, he said, and he kept a respectful distance away, which proved that he’d lived in Japan before. Americans weren’t exactly known for personal space. They oohed and awwed over the big cats, strolled around the rest of the zoo while testing Panther _and_ Sena’s knowledge in obscure animal trivia using both Japanese and English (Panther was _definitely_ better at Japanese than Sena was at English). Neither of them really liked reptiles, so when they finished walking through the aviary, they went back to the big cat enclosures and bought freeze-dried ice cream.

“I’m gonna be in Japan for the rest of the month. We should meet up again! You can take me to some good restaurants,” Panther said eagerly. “The real hole-in-the-wall and only-locals-know-about-it kinda places!”

“Sure! You sound busy with your sports’ meet, so I’ll give you my Line account to contact me. Unless… do you prefer WhatsApp? I’m pretty sure I still have one…”

“Nah, nah, I’ve got Line, and Kakao, too.”

They exchanged info and grinned at each other.

And the hair on the back of Sena’s neck rose again. “Huh?” he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck and shaking his head briskly.

“Hey, Sena, do you know a really angry-looking dude?” Panther said casually. “Cuz if you don’t, I think we might need to call the police.”

“An angry-looking…” Sena gasped and spun around. “Shin-san!”

Sure enough, Shin was walking towards them, a group of kids between the ages of maybe 6 and 13 following after him like a line of ducklings. He stopped near Panther and Sena, planted his feet shoulder-width apart, and crossed his arms over his chest. He very pointedly did _not_ look at Sena or Panther.

“Lions,” Shin said bluntly, obviously talking to the crowd of kids around him.

“You have to _tell us_ about the lions!” one kid pointed out incredulously.

“Shin-sensei, I think that man over there said your name.”

“Shin-sensei, why do boy lions have all the hair?”

“Do lions have omegas and betas and alphas, too?”

“Of course not, dumbie, they’re animals.”

“Wolves do!”

“Sh-sh-shin-s-s-s-sensei?” Sena squeaked, eyes wide enough to hurt. Panther snickered next to him.

“So you _do_ know the angry dude. If he’s an ex or something, I don’t think he’ll be an ex for long,” Panther whispered, leaning close so no one would hear.

Shin glared over at Panther and his aura of pure fury almost _loomed_ in their direction. Sena squeaked again while Panther just wrapped an arm around his stomach and _laughed_.

The kid that noticed Sena first walked bravely over to him, tossed a braid over her shoulder, and pointed at Sena. “How do you know our sensei and why are you making him sad?”

“I’m making him _what_?” Sena shrilled, face burning red. About a dozen pair of eyes all turned and glared fierce enough to make their sensei proud. Panther leaned against the railing and _guffawed_ , laughing hard enough that tears were coming to his eyes and he wheezed when he tried to breathe. Sena cowered. He definitely cowered under that onslaught. He took it back; he _never_ wanted children. They. Were. Terrifying.

“Look at the lions and leave the strangers alone. You know the rules,” Shin snapped fiercely.

“No running, no shouting, and no talking to strangers,” the kids all chorused and then giggled when Shin gifted them with his not-smile.

Strangers. Of course. Sena _was_ a stranger, wasn’t he. His chest went tight and his eyes and nose stung. He’d met Shin twice, and both times made a complete fool of himself. And _ran away_. Sena turned towards Panther, head lowered and shoulders high around his ears.

“I think I’m going home now, Panther-san. Would you like me to walk you to the nearest metro?” Sena said miserably.

“Hey, you okay, man?” He touched Sena’s shoulder hesitantly. There was a loud ‘tch’ and Panther rolled his eyes skyward, but ignored it to tighten his grip into something more solid. Grounding. “Let’s go. Maybe you’ll feel better after some dinner. Gotta rec for my first hole-in-the-wall experience?”

He was leading Sena away, whom shuffled along without looking anywhere but his feet, and a low, quiet rumble, not quite a purr, came from Panther. He flinched and dredged up a smile. He’d never had an Omega try to soothe him before, and he lifted red-rimmed eyes to Panther in gratitude.

“Sure. I hope you like ramen.”

“Love it.”

He patted Sena’s back hard enough to have him gasping and they finally turned a corner out of sight. The weight of Shin’s eyes were gone, but Sena couldn’t tell if he were more relieved, or more heartbroken.

* * *

School was going to start soon, and Sena had never looked forward to school with this much fervor. He did his bit, he went on dates almost every week (even excluding his “dates” with Karin), and nothing had clicked. The end of his promise to his mother was coming and he could be miserable and lonely and _pining_ safe and alone in his dorm at long last in just a couple weeks. He sipped at his cola, trying not to look miserable too soon, as he waited for his date. One of the last ones he’d ever have to care about. Because he would _never_ date again. He was totally and completely finished as soon as his first class started in September. He probably should’ve tried a little harder this time, worn a new yukata or something, but he showered and came early, so they’ll just have to _deal_ with the cargo shorts and tee-shirt-and-overshirt look he sloppily put on that day. Everything was clean and matched, so whatever.

> Karin(=^▽^=): dont be so gloomy sena-san
> 
> have a good time today!

Sena sighed and typed up a quick 'thank you'. Then, confirmed their last "date" at the cat cafe the next week. Her deadline would be officially done and they were planning on celebrating with all the cake sold in the shop.

> Mamoneechan: Have a good time and remember to smile, Sena-kun!
> 
> Also, call me when you get home, because I just reviewed your thesis and I have some notes.

Sena stared. When did Mamori-neechan get ahold of his thesis!?

> Panther-san: so i looked up some yelp reviews
> 
> i’ve got about ten places to eat at and only a week left here u better be ready man ( ᐛ )و

Sena laughed and shook his head. He still couldn’t believe Panther called what he was doing here a _sports’ meet_ , and it took a track-mate sending him videos of the medalists to realize his cheerful, down-to-earth date was an _Olympic champion_.

> Suzupin: hey monta says he officially transferred to osaka, u gonna be ok with no roomie this fall?

Sena locked his phonescreen and stuck his phone in his pocket. He didn’t want to think about how his best friend since 10th grade had moved to Osaka, happily Mated, with his life all planned. Just two years ago, Monta was as directionless as him. They were floundering together. He didn’t like feeling petty and jealous that Monta’s life had changed so completely for the better while Sena felt trapped on the same road he’d been on since he got accepted to Enma. The only college exams he had passed. He was definitely happy for Monta, but, about a month ago, he was a lot _happier_ about it. He ran a hand over the wristband he wore. It was a faded now, the red and black not the same vibrancy. But his scent had sunk into over the years, along with memories. All the friends he had made, his first time being brave and learning how to be strong. He was half the Alpha he was because of that old amefuto club. They always had a fond sort of regret that their team had never made it very far, but he still remembered the feeling of his first touchdown when he wore this old thing. Chasing that feeling had pushed him into track when the amefuto club fell apart.

“Hey, shortie.” A hand rustled Sena’s hair, and he ducked forward and gasped in surprise, jarred out of his reverie.

“Eh? Riku-kun?” Sena glanced over to see Riku grinning. “You’re supposed to be in Morocco!”

“Yeah, well, I cut out early,” Riku said with a shrug. As if he hadn’t cut a family vacation short, family that he rarely saw since his mother had never converted and it made everyone involved a little uncomfortable.

Hm, maybe _that’s_ why he cut out early.

“I’m really glad to see you, Riku-kun,” Sena said, sighing softly and letting Riku envelope him in their usual hug. When he pulled away, Riku knuckled briefly at Sena’s jaw, making him laugh.

“I couldn’t stand seeing you looking so stressed out. It was like watching a kitten punish itself.”

“You all really need to stop comparing me to kittens. At least let me be a full grown cat in the comparisons! I’m twenty-one! And an Alpha!” He even flashed his eyes red as his hands waved.

Riku rolled his own eyes, flashing a brief red back. “Oh, scary. I think my bunny slippers just ran for covers.”

“... that sounds really familiar…” Sena said with a pensive frown. Riku’s cheeks flushed lightly.

“My cousins roped me into a Disney marathon. Doesn’t matter, let's head in,” Riku said, grabbing Sena’s shoulder and pushing him forward.

“Eh eh, wait! But I have a-”

“It’s me, dingus. I used my dad’s family’s last name. You didn’t notice?”

“Well, I noticed it was _foreign_ ,” Sena mumbled, none too little shame on his face. Riku just laughed.

“I thought you wouldn’t. You think I was gonna miss our festival? We’ve been coming together every year since I came back in high school.”

Sena was _not_ going to cry. But he did lean over enough to bump their shoulders together and sniffled _a little_. “You’re the same height as me, jerk.”

“Nah, I’m definitely taller. Your hair is a lie.”

“What’s wrong with my hair!? Your hair looked just like mine, like, _three months ago_.”

“And yet I’m still taller than you. Cut your hair, Goku, then we’ll talk.”

“I don’t have _Goku hair_.”

The festival was the same as it always was. Some booths obviously showing their years of wear, and others looking brighter and newer. They easily dodged the crowd, stocked up on too much food, and bought silly, painted masks. Despite the new friends he’d been making (instead of a _boyfriend_ ), Sena couldn’t help but feel like something in him was more settled having Riku back. If only Monta and Suzuna could be there, too.

“It’s the Alpha, duh,” Riku said when Sena finally admitted just that while they squirted waterguns to try and win cheesy, cheap prizes. “Territorial. It’s why you got all pissy when that guard tried to subdue that Shin guy. You’re not used to your own instincts, but they _are_ there.” He grinned when his buzzer went off. He chose the biggest toy, a huge, bright pink frog, and handed it off to the goggly-eyed kid that barely hit the bullseye even one time.

“When are you going to start dating for real, Mr. I’m a Great Alpha with Great Alpha Advice? Isn’t your family bugging you about it?” Sena asked, but he was grinning at the kid squealing happily to his mother.

He and Riku waved the mom and kid good-bye and wandered towards another booth.

“I’ve thought about it. And I’ve dated here and there. No one… No one fits quite right,” Riku whispered the last bit, hands shoved in his pockets and blue eyes looking _sad_. He turned on his smirk, all traces of that sadness gone in the next moment. “Of course they’re hounding me to date, get married, have the usual brood, as they do. But luckily, most of them live in Morocco. It’s a lot easier to ignore emails than the mom and dad living a few train stations away. That you go and see _every week_.”

“Mom cooks better than I do,” Sena protested. Riku just snickered. “Riku-kun… are you sure you’re okay? You looked-”

Riku made a swift cut off motion with his hand. His smirk still curled up one side of his mouth, but it looked sharper now. Less smugly cheerful.

“I’m here to cheer you up, Sena, not the other way around. I have a feeling I won’t be able to keep this job for long,” Riku laughed and tucked his hands behind his head. “I miss it. Being kids. Before Presenting and all this grown up crap. When we used to just _run_ and play video games and just have each other.”

“And Mamori-neechan!”

“Yeah. But… that summer I lived here, before we moved to the US and me n’ you lost touch. I knew what you meant with that territorial feeling because I felt that way when I got back and you had all these great friends that really cared about you. I spent a lot of time with Kid and my amefuto team trying to work through being really glad for you, while also pissed off at you.” Riku chuckled under his breath.

Sena blinked. “I had no idea. You were always just… the coolest friend I ever had. I always felt lucky that you talked to me at all that summer, and when you came back, it was like you never left. I never noticed you being pissed at me.”

“No, you wouldn’t’ve.” Riku stared up at the lanterns above their heads that were just starting to light up. “I made sure you didn’t see that. You hadn’t Presented yet, and if you ended up being an Omega, I didn’t want to put pressure on you.”

“Huh, why would me being an Omega change anything?” Sena asked, head tilting to the side in confusion.

Riku reached over and flicked Sena’s ear. He yelped and twisted away. “Pheromones, dumbass. An unhappy Alpha affects an Omega, especially one they’re close to. It was kinda a relief you became an Alpha. You missed a lot of those cues. An Omega wouldn’t have.”

Sena’s nose scrunched, still feeling baffled. He felt like he was missing something. What cues? What had he missed in high school?

“C’mon, let’s head out. I’m starving.”

“You ate twice the amount I did!”

“I’m taller, I have more to fill up.”

“That’s _not_ how it works.”

“You would know, wouldn’t you, Pre-Med.”

Sena shoved at Riku, both of them laughing. Riku’s phone went off, and he cussed under his breath quietly. He held up a finger and answered, rapidly speaking Arabic… probably to his dad. His dad liked to used Arabic for when Riku was in serious trouble and he didn’t want his mother to get involved (Kaitani-san was terrifying when angered, everyone wanted to avoid a scary, angry Kaitani Risa).

Feeling a little like a voyeur, Sena glanced around the festival. He’d been hoping to buy some dried squid snacks for Pitt before they left. By the steady decrease into angry hissing coming from Riku, he probably had a few minutes. He shuffled a short ways away, heading towards the myriad of smells of the food carts, when he noticed a _huge_ blonde guy. His hair was definitely dyed, the roots showing black, but he was still _massive_ for a Japanese guy. Sena gawked for a second, remembered his manners, and looked away quickly. He’d just spent weeks getting to know Panther, who was at least as tall as that guy. It shouldn’t be so shocking. That’s when he noticed the shorter man next to the giant. Unlike said-giant, who was wearing a bright yukata, the shorter man wore a white tee and running shorts. There was something about the set of his shoulders, and the undercut of his spiky black hair…

“Shin,” Sena whispered, eyes widening. That same horrible pain from that day at the zoo stabbed right through him. He clutched at his chest, blood draining from his face.

Of all places, just when he forgotten, for a moment, how terrible he felt, there was Shin. With some _giant guy_. With dyed hair and a loud, rolicky voice that Sena could hear from where he stood across aisles of food vendors and game stalls. They walked out of sight and Sena was moving, getting jostled and bumped and shoved by the crowd, but he couldn’t look away from where Shin had gone. He burst around a stall and there they were again. The giant was laughing, a loud _braying_ laugh, Sena thought uncharitably. His irritation had nothing to do with the way he was patting Shin’s back, like they were _friends_. Like he had a right to just… just _touch_ Shin like it meant nothing. It meant _everything_.

Uh oh.

Sena stumbled back, closing his eyes and shaking his head. He was getting that same woozy-head, tunnel-vision he got at the museum. He had no right to be here, following after Shin, getting mad and territorial over _nothing_. Because whoever that was, Shin obviously knew him. _He_ wasn’t a stranger, not like Sena was. His teeth creaked and he spun on his heel. He’ll go find Riku and drag him out of the festival before Sena did something super super dumb.

“I wish you wouldn’t do that,” Shin said. Sena froze, breath caught in his throat. He hadn’t even noticed them coming back Sena’s way. “I don’t need you to lead me around like a child.”

“I know how you are in crowds, man, and Kakkun told me to watch out for you.”

“He wouldn’t want you to call him that, Mizumachi.”

Sena forced his feet forward. They walked faster than him and were passing him. He very subtly, but quickly, put a crowd of teenagers between himself and the two taller men. But not before he caught the scent of Alpha and chlorine coming off the other guy.

“Look, we’re both lost and you broke my phone-”

“I did not. It broke itself.”

“Seijuuro, buddy, phones don’t do that.”

Sena watched, as if in slow motion, as the giant, Mizumachi, reached out. Shin was already glaring, moving away. Mizumachi just laughed and reeled Shin in with one overly long, muscley arm around his neck.

“I said-”

Air rushed past, ruffling clothes, the hair on their heads, someone let out a quickly stifled shriek, sounding more confused than scared. Sena was standing between the giant and Shin, glaring up the miles between them, and Mizumachi was shaking his red hand and hissing lightly.

“He said _don’t do that_.”

“Who’s the squirt? Where’d you _come_ from?”

Sena shoved his fist at Mizumachi’s chest and he automatically grabbed what Sena gave. He blinked down at the phone in his hand.

“If you need a phone, use mine,” Sena said in a tight voice he barely recognized.

“Kobayakawa?”

Sena squeaked and tensed all over. Slowly, as his shoulders rode up and his head ducked down, Sena turned and bowed slightly.

“I’ll leave as soon as possible. I’m sorry to interrupt,” he murmured with his eyes closed tightly.

“It _is_ you,” Shin said, sounding bemused. “Were you following me?”

“What! NO!” Sena yelped, jumping up straight and waving his hands around. “I mean, I was for a little while there, but I was gonna go and get my friend and leave when I realized I was following you, but then suddenly you were right in front of me and then he kept touching you and you looked _mad_ and I just sorta _moved_. I do that, it’s a problem. I’m sure you could’ve kicked his ass on your own,”

“Hey! It’s true, but you don’t have to shout it!” Mizumachi exclaimed, laughing.

“-anyway, I should go find my friend!” Sena stumbled back, then froze, blushing beet-red. Shin was still _staring_ at him. “Um. Your friend has my phone.”

“Colleague. He’s not my friend,” Shin said only. Sena blinked, eyes widening at the softening of Shin’s mouth that was the closest to a smile he got. “He teaches swimming at the same community center.”

“What is this? Everyone gang up on Kengo day?”

“It depends, what did you do today?” answered a new voice, sounding bored and amused at the same time.

“Kakkun!”

“No.”

Kengo draped himself over the newcomer with an over exaggerated pout, a man just as tall, but dark where Kengo was light, even wearing an almost-black indigo yukata.

“Kakei. You have him.”

“You’re free to go. Thank you.”

“I’m not a delivery!”

Sena burst out laughing, his face redder than ever, which he quickly hid behind a hand. “Oh, wow, I just made a complete ass of myself again.”

“You’ve never made a complete ass of yourself,” Shin disagreed. Sena peeked up from under his hair, but Shin looked utterly serious. Even that almost smile was gone.

“Oi, it’s yours, squirt,” Mizumachi tossed the phone. Shin moved to catch it, but Sena grabbed it before he could. Mizumachi and Kakei were already wincing, breathing twin sighs of relief when Sena made the catch.

“Th-thanks, but I got it,” Sena said. He reached out to touch Shin’s arm, then quickly pulled away. They stared at each other impotently again, neither speaking or moving.

“Wow. The UST hurts,” Mizumachi said, scratching his ear with his pinkie. Sena and Shin looked over at him in confusion, but Kakei just sighed.

“We’ll be going. My team will see yours on the field tomorrow, Shin.”

“Hn.” He nodded at Kakei. Then, the two giant men left, Mizumachi laughing at something Kakei muttered under his breath.

“Teams?” Sena asked.

“Soccer. We coach soccer.”

“Oh! At the community center? So, he’s a colleague, too?”

“Hn.”

Sena and Shin’s eyes met. Sena quickly looked away. He had no idea if Shin did.

“I should… my friend…” Sena whispered.

“That American… from the zoo?” Shin asked the question as if it were ripped from his mouth against his will.

Sena flinched. He did _not_ want to remember the zoo. “No, another stranger.”

Oh. Oops. His eyes widened in shock at the rude words coming out of his own mouth. A sharp inhale told him that Shin hadn’t missed it either.

“I … yeah, I’m going,” Sena stammered, stepping away.

“Kobayakawa, wai-”

“Sena.” He took a deep breath, fixed a smile on his face, and turned to Shin. He was standing there, frowning and _stupidly_ beautiful. “Everyone just calls me Sena. So… you know, the next time we run into each other, just call me Sena.”

“Okay.” Shin’s eyebrow rose, that frown more confused than angry.

Sena bowed. “Bye.” And ran. Again.

He didn’t see Shin still standing there, hand dragging through his hair, huffing loud enough he scared a small family walking past.

Riku was waiting at the entrance of the festival and glaring down at his phone. His expression cleared when Sena showed up. “There you are! I was about to get worried!”

His sneakers skittered over dirt as he braked. “It’s… it’s nothing. Let’s go,” he said quietly. Riku’s eyebrow rose, and Sena wanted to cry at how familiar the gesture was. Shin and Riku looked _nothing_ alike.

“So, I was thinking about going to that Korean BBQ place Monta likes and taking a bunch of pictures. He’ll hate it.”

“Really? But they mostly serve pork-”

“I just spent a month eating completely halal, I’m having pig for dinner tonight.”

“You’re gonna get sick,” Sena said, half-laughing and letting Riku drag him away from the festival.

* * *

> Karin(=^▽^=): i got the job!!!!
> 
> !!!!!!!!
> 
> can u believe it!? they loved the chpters!
> 
> o((⊙﹏⊙))o
> 
> Me: of course they did!!!
> 
> congratulations! (´ ▽｀).。ｏ♡
> 
> Karin(=^▽^=): o(*///▽///*)q
> 
> we hav to celebrate! Toebeans?
> 
> Me: always toebeans. should i invite mamo-nee too?
> 
> Karin(=^▽^=): no not for toebeans. we’ll hav a bigger party with all our friends & i’ll bring yamato too. we’ll do hotpot!!
> 
> Me: I like hotpot but… yamato?
> 
> Karin(=^▽^=): teehee, my secret omega bf of course. just kidding we just started dating this morning when he came here with flowers for me! you’ll love him, everybody does
> 
> Me: what!!!
> 
> Karin(=^▽^=): see u at toebeans!

Sena took his customary strawberry and mint juice to their customary table. The sweet tortoiseshell that was a recent addiction came to stroke against his leg. He smiled and petted her, smiling wider at the loud rumble of her purr as she butted her head against his wrist-sweatband. She had been so shy when she first came, but now she was one of the first to come and claim a seat on his lap. Deciding he could drink later, he hefted her up into his arms and wandered over to where most of the toys lay. He settled on the floor in a cross-legged seat, the tortie half-curled in his lap, half-draped over one thigh, as he waggled a feather-on-a-string hanging from a stick over her head. Her claws flashed and he grinning, wiggling it hard enough to make the bell chime.

His phone chimed and he raised the stick higher with one hand as he dug out the phone with the other. The grey tabby from his first day strolled over to reach for the chiming-wiggling-feather toy as well.

> Karin(=^▽^=): sorry sorry, i know ull be upset but mamo-nee said u need this. she set it all up
> 
> pls dont be too mad sena-san im so sorry!

Sena scowled in confusion. What? Why would he be mad? About the secret Omega boyfriend? He knew what her parents were like. He’d keep pretending to be her beard, too, if she wanted it for a little while longer. What about Mamori-neechan?

The bell at the cafe’s entrance gate rang, but Sena was still frowning at his phone, absently shaking the feather that he didn’t notice the cats were ignoring now. Socks shuffled over wood and suddenly feet were right next to Sena’s knee. Feet in white socks with grey toes and heels. He slowly looked up and felt his mouth drop open.

“Can I sit?” Shin asked, gesturing to the floor next to him.

“Not on the cats.”

“Hn.”

With gentle hands, he picked up the tabby and carefully lowered himself to the ground. A tuxedo cat that had been napping on the nearby cat tree stretched itself awake and leapt down onto Shin’s shoulders. He stilled immediately, letting the grey tabby jump free while the tuxedo kneaded at his broad shoulders. Sena had never sympathized with a cat more.

“You’re instantly popular,” Sena said nervously.

“Cats like me.”

“I… I can see that,” Sena’s mouth twitched as a larger, mottled orange and grey tabby slunk its way into Shin’s lap and perched there. Like a smug little sphinx.

“Seijuuro.”

Sena looked over in confusion. “Your name?”

“Yes. You can call me Seijuuro, Sena.”

An orange tabby came towards Sena, and the tortie growled a warning. The tabby slunk behind Sena’s back and Sena stroked the tortie quickly to calm her.

“You don’t have to-” Sena whispered after a long moment.

“We’re not strangers anymore,” Shin interrupted fiercely. Sena’s breath caught, but he couldn’t lift his eyes from the happily purring cat on his lap. “I shouldn’t have said that. I was… angry. That you were there. With someone else.”

Sena blinked rapidly. His eyes were feeling hot and his ears were ringing. He obviously had a fever because nothing else made sense.

“Our first date wasn’t a trainwreck. We aren’t unsuited for each other. The only reason I haven't contacted you is... my mother is in Germany. I don't have your mother's information. I want to meet you on purpose next time. Sena."

He startled in place and looked up, neck muscles almost twinging at the suddenness. He should’ve looked ridiculous, sitting on the floor in what looked like gym clothes, his expression too earnest, a cat stretching behind his head, another cat reaching up trying to play, another still smugly sitting in his lap. He didn’t, though. He just looked… perfect.

Awkwardly, not quite trusting what he was seeing, Sena grinned. “Well, there wasn’t any fire or anything broken last time. Maybe we’re getting better at it.”

Shin's earnest expression broke into something more vulnerable, hopeful. “I’ve never met anyone like you.”

Sena stared, heart thumping and cheeks flushing.

“I didn’t know what you meant then, but I understand now.”

“What did you think I meant?” Sena exclaimed. Shin glanced down and stroked a hand down the calico-tabby’s back.

“I don’t look like most Omegas. I don’t make friends easily and I don’t speak often. Or kindly.”

Sena made a disagreeable noise. “You’re kind!”

Shin huffed, his mouth softening into that precious almost smile. “I thought you meant the way I’ve been hearing it my whole life. I like who I am, and what I do, but I didn’t think anyone would agree. Not like this.” He looked up and met Sena’s eyes again, expression stern again. “Not like you.”

“You are the _best_ person I’ve ever met,” Sena said fiercely. “I don’t care if I barely know you, I can tell. I have really great friends, so I know good people from bad. _You_ are a good one.”

“I meant as an Omega.”

Sena flushed cherry red. He was probably red from his toes to the top of his head. “That way, too.”

Their eyes met, and like magnet, they slowly leaned in. Was it finally going to happen? Was Sena finally going to have his first _real_ kiss, by the most beautiful person he'd ever met, surrounded by cats? Was he dead? Was he dreaming? Shin stiffened, scowling, and Sena wanted to cry. What _now_?

“Are you going to faint again?” Shin asked. Oh, that’s a concern scowl. Sena filed it away for later and tried not to die of mortification.

“I sure hope not.”

Raspy and low, chuckles fell from Shin’s mouth, his head ducking as it to hide them. If Sena wasn’t staring straight at him, he’d be blaming the cats for the noise. Ignoring the annoying grumbles of too many cats, Sena wrapped a hand around the back of Shin’s neck and pulled him down. His mouth pressed to the side of Shin’s neck and he smelled like… like _everything_. Everything Sena ever wanted. Warm, and earthy, and _home_. No wonder all those great (and weird) dates hadn’t been enough. No wonder they kept finding each other again and again, colliding with barely any control. Shin was the only good date, the only right one. The only one that mattered.

And Sena spent two months wasting his time thinking he wasn’t good enough. Idiot. His forehead fell with a thunk to Shin’s shoulder and Shin grunted softly. One arm wrapped around Sena’s waist to pull him a little closer. It was awkward, since they were both still mostly draped in cats and sitting crosslegged on the ground, but Sena hadn’t felt this great in _weeks_.

When they finally left the cat cafe, completely blind to the red faces of the workers behind them, their hands were clasped between them. Sena’s wrist felt a little naked, but he looked over at Shin’s to see his old sweatband there, the number 21 starkly black on bright scarlet red. It belonged there more than it belonged on Sena, now. The idea that no matter where Shin went, _Sena’s_ mark and scent would be there, too, had him grinning like a goofy loon the whole way to the metro. Shin looked over at him, then leaned down to press his cheek to Sena’s. He flushed from head to toe, eeping quietly. Then, taking a deep breath and dredging up that old amefuto courage, Sena gripped the front of Shin's, _Seijuuro's_ , shirt, leaned up onto his toes, and got his kiss. They rather lost track of time and place after that.

But he definitely _didn't_ faint again. ~~He did. Shin had to piggyback him home.~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the manga, Sena's dad was actually only 42 at the beginning of the series. Which means he went to a marriage consultant at, like, 26 or 27. I aged them up a bit. I guess cuz I'm a judgey single American who's foisting my single agenda on them. oops. Also, I DEFINITELY made up how it works.
> 
> Sena normally calls his mother "haha or haha-ue" so him saying "okaasan" is overly formal, or annoyed. Like saying Mother instead of Mom, lol.
> 
> The museum I based on the Tokyo National Museum, but I've never been so I was purposefully vague. 
> 
> The artist that were vaguely alluded to (since I don't actually know specific exhibits, due to COVID they took down a lot of information on their site to discourage patrons, but I KNOW they have ancient Japanese art)
> 
> \- Kitagawa Utamaro  
> \- Ogata Korin
> 
> The cute tortie cat and the grey tabby are based on my kitties. Me n Keto are big fans of my cats, so we gave them cameos LOL (It was Keto's idea, it's PRECIOUS, this is why we're biffles)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Was he the only one who was left feeling dissatisfied with their snatched minutes and hours? Who wished they could’ve kissed longer, or more? Who wanted to spend an entire night together, learning the weight and shape of each other in the bed side by side? He knew he’d hit the jackpot on basically his first try...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is basically the first time if fantasy. hut I dont even care. suspend your disbelief with me and enjoy this rocking good time???

It didn’t look like much, but Sena was already sweating a little. He’d _convinced_ Shin this would be a good idea. All but begged him, really, and he would’ve begged, too, but Shin had been convinced a little faster than Sena had expected.

_Meet my friends, I said. They’re great, I said. We’ll have a FUN time, I said._

He and Shin stood side by side and stared up at the sign over the building and Sena regretted. _Regretted_. He regretted the convincing and also letting Suzuna pick the location. He really should’ve known better. Anything to embarrass the crap out of him, she would do.

“Hn.”

Sena sighed at the soft grunt Shin made. “Suzuna picked the place.”

“Suzuna is… one of the friends I’ll meet? Not the one in Osaka?”

“Yeah, Monta’s in Osaka. He really wanted to come, too, but it’s in the middle of the semester and Honjou-san talked him out of jumping on a shinkansen.” Sena sighed again, sadly this time. “His schedule is really packed, so Honjou-san was right, but… I was hoping he could make it.”

“You don’t have busy weekends, not always,” Shin noted. Sena looked up at him in confusion. “You should go visit _him_ soon.”

“But… but weekends are the only time we can really spend time together? And you can’t miss your community center classes,” Sena said frowning a little.

“You miss your friend. I can handle missing you for one weekend,” Shin said simply.

Sena’s eyes widened, then he burst into a wide grin. “What if _I_ can’t handle missing you?”

Shin’s mouth softened and pressed his hand to Sena’s neck, thumb brushing under his jaw. Sena’s eyes slid half-closed, pleased at both the possessive touch and being able to _tease_. Only two months into this, but Sena already felt like he knew where he stood with Shin. Like this was solid.

“Let’s go meet the friends that are here.”

“Right! And your friends! Like the guy that stood me up at the museum,” Sena said, laughing.

Shin scowled. “Takami likes to meddle.”

“God, that was such a disaster,” Sena said, shaking his head.

“I’ve been banned for life, but I didn’t like it much anyway.”

Sena had to lean against Shin for support as he laughed hard enough to cry. He was so busy laughing, he didn’t notice the group of younger women look up and stare over at him when they entered before they began to giggle together. Shin’s shoulders tightened.

“Sena! Over here!”

Over at a table, Suzuna was standing on a bench, leaning on a protesting Riku, and waving wildly. Mamori was sitting next to her, looking amused and worried at the same time. Next to Mamori was Karin, and then a tall, broad-shoulder, wild-haired man who was holding… Karin’s satchel? Shin’s pace slowed a bit.

“I know him.”

“What?”

“Hey, it’s Shin Seijuuro! What a small world,” said the stranger next to Karin. She glanced between Shin and the other man with an expression just as startled as Sena’s.

“Yamato Takeru,” Shin greeted with an incline of his head.

“You don’t have to be so formal, we’re gym buddies now!” Yamato got up to slap Shin’s back. For one of the few times, Shin was… almost… short. “Does that mean Mamoru’s coming?”

“Yes.”

“Mamoru?” Sena repeated.

“Banba.”

Sena _ooh_ ed in recognition of the name. “I’m Sena! Oh, Seijuuro, here.” Sena quickly introduced everyone else. Mamori and Karin wore angelic smiles, Riku looked… unconvinced but was unfailingly polite, and Suzuna had Sena sweating again. Nothing good could come of a look like that.

“So, Shin-kun,” _Shin-kun already?_ Sena thought in dismay. _She’ll give him a weird name within an hour, oh god._ “Have you ever been roller skating before?”

“No.”

Suzuna grinned widely. “Great! Today is going to be _hilarious_. Sena, make sure you take videos. Monta demanded it.”

Sena rolled his eyes heavenward. “I knew you did this on purpose.”

“Yup, and as soon as Shin-kun’s friends get here, we’re going to do _it_.”

“NO!” Sena yelped. Riku and Mamori were already laughing. “Why!?”

“It’s amazing, Sena! You should be proud of yourself!” Mamori said with a twinkle in her blue eyes.

“You’ve been dating Hiruma-san too long,” Sena mumbled.

“Do what?” Shin asked. Sena opened his mouth, already resigned to his fate, but Suzuna jumped forward to slap her hand over his mouth.

“Oh no, it’s a _surprise_.”

“It’s better just to see it happen,” Riku agreed, smirking. Sena rolled his eyes upwards again. “When will your friends be here?” he asked the still frowning Shin.

“Karin, do you know what they’re talking about?” Yamato was whispering to her. She shook her head, but Mamori leaned in to whisper in her ear. Her light brown eyes lit up.

“They should be here any minute. I asked them to come a little late, to avoid any awkward meetings.”

“He’s smart like that,” Sena said, pushing Suzuna’s hand away to grin over at him. Shin just huffed.

“Being cute isn’t getting you out of it,” Suzuna warned. Sena rolled his eyes at her, already smiling a little. It was embarrassing, but… he actually couldn’t wait to see if he could still do it.

“I’ll go get everyone’s skates! I just need Shin-kun and Yama-tan’s sizes!”

Sena mouthed the name ‘Yama-tan’ to himself. ‘Yama-tan’ in question just looked pleased.

“How about I go with you to help? Karin, you don’t mind if I leave you here?” Yamato asked her with a smile.

“Of course not.”

The smiles they beamed at each other literally made Sena’s blink stars away from his vision. It was _blinding_. How could two such beautiful people exist? And be together!? Karin flushed a pretty pink when Yamato kissed her cheek, and then he held out his arm for a grinning Suzuna and led her towards the skates.

“Karin-san,” Sena said very seriously. She looked at him in surprise. “He’s great. I’m really happy for you.”

“Sena-san!” Karin gasped, hands pressed to her red cheeks. She glanced towards him over her shoulder. “He _is_ , isn’t he? My parents called me up to disown me, and the next thing I know, he’s got the phone and suddenly they’re apologizing and inviting us back to Osaka for dinner. I don’t even know how he _did_ it.”

Some weird electronic beeping noise interrupted the group. They all automatically looked at their phones in suspicion, but it was apparently Shin’s phone. He pulled it out of his pocket, scowling down at it, while everyone else stared at it, too. It looked like a Nokia from 2001, solid like a brick with actual buttons and a screen that only showed Caller ID. Sena even saw it still _had an antenna_. Riku looked at it, and then gave Sena the most judging look he’d ever seen. Sena raised his hands, bewildered. He’d never actually seen Shin with a phone before. The only electronics he’d see Shin ever use was… that… audio tour device…

Sena quickly turned away from his friends, and Shin who was talking to someone named Sakuraba-- that name sounded familiar-- and covered his face with a hand. He was not going to laugh. Nope. He was not going to laugh at his boyfriend in front of other people. He could _control_ himself.

“They’re coming now,” Shin said as he shoved his phone away. He frowned at Sena’s shaking shoulders. “Are you all right?”

“F-fine!” he squeaked.

“Hi! We found it! I didn’t think there was a place like this over here!” called out a very pleasant and… _really familiar_ voice.

Sena spun around, mouth agape, and pointed at the ridiculously tall man with the light eyes and hair. “I know you!”

Sakuraba stopped dead, blushing slightly, and the tall, dark-haired man in glasses next to him smirked.

“Oh! This is… wait… are you Takami-san?” Sena said, suspicions slowly building as he looked between them.

“Yes, I’m Takami Ichirou, nice to finally meet you, Kobayakawa,” he said, clearly amused.

“And you’re… dating Sakuraba-san…” Sena said.

“You can just call me Haruto, really,” he offered, still red-faced and guilty-looking.

“You… you didn’t stand me up at all,” Sena realized, eyes widening. “And the person on the phone the whole time during our date,” he added, looking back at Sakuraba.

“Um, yeah, it was Ichirou. We were trying-” Sakuraba said, shoulders slumping.

“Meddle. They were trying to _meddle_ ,” Shin interrupted in annoyance. Sakuraba flinched and smiled awkwardly, but Takami just smirked.

“You were going to wait six months for your mother to return from Germany. I expedited the process.”

“You… you were both going on dates with me to get Seijuuro there?!” Sena shrilled.

“I knew about it!” Mamori said cheerfully. Sena turned to her with wide eyes. She blushed slightly. “I knew it couldn’t have been a coincidence that Shin-san’s friend just _happened_ to be the one to stand you up and send Shin-san in his place to apologize. So I looked up Takami-san's information."

“She was actually helping us try to get Shin to the picnic date, too,” Sakuraba added. Riku barked out a laugh.

“There wasn’t a _fire_ that time, so what was the point,” Shin said with a strangely pointed look at Takami. Who finally looked contrite.

“No one was actually hurt.”

“Seijuuro was _banned from a museum for life_ ,” Sena exclaimed, baffled at the fire comment.

“I don’t think Shin minds about that,” said a new, much deeper voice. A very large, dark-skinned man walked up from behind Takami and Sakuraba. Shin’s angry scowl loosened and he held out a hand. They both clasped each other at the wrist and Shin turned to Sena.

“This is Banba Mamoru. He was not in on it,” Shin said, as if it were the highest compliment to be paid. Sakuraba laughed helplessly behind his hand.

“Don’t give me too much credit. If they had asked, I would’ve been,” Banba said, his serious face breaking into a small smile. This time it was Sena laughing helplessly while Shin gave Banba a look of deep affront. Banba just shrugged. “You were going to wait until your mother _came back from Germany_. Just get a better phone plan, man,” he said, clapping Shin’s shoulder.

Shin grumbled while almost everyone else couldn’t help laughing. Mamori stepped up quickly.

“Suzuna and Yamato-san are getting skates, why don’t you come with me?”

“I’m actually really excited about this!” Sakuraba said eagerly. “I haven’t done something like this since middle school.”

“I’ll have to sit out. I have a old leg injury,” Takami said with a fond smile over at Sakuraba. “I’ll take a lot of pictures. Itou-san will thank me.”

Sakuraba rolled his eyes. “I’m not going to think about Itou-san on one of my only days off.”

It didn’t take long for the people who could/would skate to be laced up and making their way onto the rink. Suzuna was already zipping circles around them, giggling unabashedly at the uncomfortable glowers sent her way. She _thrived_ on these sorts of situations. Although Yamato swore up and down he’d never skated, just rollerbladed a little in his primary school days, he was soon enough zooming along beside Suzuna, coming back to hold Karin’s hand, spin her into dizzying circles to make her laugh, and then all but challenging her to a race even as she protested she couldn’t possibly. They were both racing across the rink, Yamato laughing and Karin giggling, with Suzuna skating backwards beside them.

Banba carefully made his way onto the rink and, after a few minutes of standing like a statue, grabbed the railing and just… walked. Carefully. Around the edges. Sakuraba pinwheeled and laughed and tripped and rolled around like a preschooler, looking over his shoulder to wave at Takami and then trip into Banba’s back. Banba took it with a scowl, holding perfectly still until the slightly taller man could stand up straight again. Mamori and Riku leisurely skated around the newbies, calling out in encouragements. Eventually, Mamori took Banba’s hands and led him, while she skated backwards, out onto the rink properly. Behind them all came Shin and Sena. Shin was _scowling_ , glaring down at his feet, glaring over at Suzuna and Yamato, and then glaring down at his feet again.

“It’s okay to take your time,” Sena said with a smile. “Bend your knees a little more, and use your arms for balance.”

Shin looked over at him and then blinked in surprise. “You’re good at this.”

“Suzuna is my friend. She used to drag us here all the time. She’s in a roller derby league, actually! She’s amazing!”

“I thought… you were bad at it. The way you reacted before,” Shin said slowly. Sena blushed and almost tripped. He caught himself with a feat of agility that had Shin’s eyes widening, but Sena barely even noticed what he’d done.

“No, that all wasn't about skating, not really. It’s… it’s a thing. Me, Monta, and Suzuna, and when Riku came back from USA, he got dragged into it, too, we do this thing… it’s not the same without Monta, but I know she’s going to make us do it anyway.”

The music, which was too loud and grating, changed over into something bouncier and vaguely familiar (though just as loud). Sena looked up and groaned. Suddenly, Suzuna was skidding to a stop right in front of them, hands out to Sena.

“It’s time for your ritualistic embarrassment. Let’s go, sweetcheeks,” Suzuna said with a wink at Shin as she whisked his groaning boyfriend away. Shin blinked at their backs.

Banba and Sakuara slowly coasted his way, Sakuraba grabbing for Shin’s shoulder to stop himself. (Banba just rolled into the wall.)

“Do you know what’s happening?” Sakuraba asked, face flushed and grinning.

“Do you know why ABBA?” Shin and Sakuraba stared at Banba incomprehensively. He rolled his eyes. “The _music_. It’s ABBA.”

The moment the song starting singing, something about a seventeen year old queen, Suzuna, Riku, and Sena began to _dance_. Shin stared, Sakuraba immediately started laughing, and the rest of the rink stopped to watch. They were doing weird hip twists, spinning in circles while holding hands, and somehow doing _dancing steps_ while on wheels. By the chorus, they were laughing and singing, rocking their hips and throwing their index fingers in the air. Banba was even chuckling, fingers tapping out the rhythm on his arm. Mamori had her phone up, cheering and whistling. Somehow, by the second verse, Yamato had joined in, knowing the steps or making them up in a way that looked like they belonged, filling in where Monta was definitely missing. Sena was red-faced, but laughing just as loudly and freely as his friends, looking dumbstruck when Yamato grabbed and spun him around on one skate, and then dipped him to cheers from Karin. Suzuna, not to be out done, tried to dip Riku.

The smaller two fell with a crash. Yamato put Sena back on his feet and they both hurried over to help the tangled up friends. People were clapping, a few people shouted out ‘encore’, and almost everyone had a phone out.

“Really, Suze? You had to dip me?” Riku said, laughing, arm slung around Sena’s shoulders.

“I can’t let Yama-tan steal the spotlight on _our_ dance! We’ve been doing it since high school!”

“It was great! We should do it again,” Yamato said with a wide grin. Karin zipped up, braking neatly beside him.

“You were great! I can’t believe you just joined in like that, but also, I can believe it,” Karin said with a shake of her head.

“I’m glad you helped out, it was a little awkward without Monta there,” Sena said. He glanced over at Riku worriedly. “You’re really okay?”

“Just bruised my tailbone. I’ll be fine,” Riku said, face still red.

“You could kiss it and make it better,” Suzuna sang.

“Damn it, Taki!” Riku shoved off to chase the cackling Suzuna around the rink. 

Shin grabbed Sena, who wobbled unsteadily at Riku’s sudden movement. He glanced up, redder than ever but smiling. “Surprise,” he said quietly.

“It was a good surprise. It looked like you had fun,” Shin said. An eyebrow rose. “Also that you’re much better at skating than you claim.”

Sena flushed even brighter and ducked his head.

“Sena is always claiming he’s worse at things than he is,” Mamori said. “Just because he struggles a bit in some things, he thinks he’s bad at everything.”

“You haven’t seen my grades this year. I’ve been tanking everything,” Sena groaned. He dropped his head to Shin’s shoulder.

“You’re taking an incredibly difficult courseload in a subject that you’ve struggled in for years,” Mamori scolded.

“I’ve seen your thesis, Sena-san,” Karin added kindly. “You’re working really hard on something I can barely understand.”

“Kinesiology, right?” Yamato said with an interested look. “I also studied kinesiology. Since I’ll be in Tokyo for a while, why don’t I join your and Karin’s study dates? With me, you’ll be graduated with honors, you can believe it.”

Sena stared at him, sweating lightly. “No, that’s not possible. But… I’d appreciate any help I can get. Please, take good care of me, senpai.” He bowed slightly.

“Of course!” Yanato said with a confident smile. Karin beamed at Yamato and Sena both. Yamato gave her a _look_. “I see why you insisted I meet your new friend.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re new to Tokyo, that’s all,” Karin said, blushing and refusing to meet his eyes.

Sena grabbed Shin’s hand. When Shin looked down, Sena was smiling up at him. “C’mon, let’s go. You’ll catch on.”

Shin huffed and let Sena tug him along. Soon enough, his natural athletic ability kicked in and he was able to keep mostly up, breaking as neatly as Sena and turning on a dime whenever Sena spun around him to laughingly skate backwards. He didn’t seem to notice that all the people that had seen him and his friends dancing earlier were still watching him, pointing or whispering behind their hands. A few had even tried to wave, but Sena didn’t even notice. The few times he did, he looked over his shoulder wondering who they could be waving at, then turned his full attention right back to Shin.

Shin honestly needed his full attention. He went from being nimble and relaxed, his mouth almost _smiling_ , to frowning and rigidly uncomfortable in seconds. Sena couldn’t even figure out what was flipping the switch. After a while, he suggested a break. When they skated over to where Takami was holding a table, they noticed most of their group was already there, all talking like they were all good friends for years instead of just barely met.

“I’m so glad this worked out! I know we have our own separate lives, but I’m glad that we can bring them together and it’ll work out,” Sena said happily.

“I don’t have many friends,” Shin said quietly. Sena glanced up at him, head tilted. “The few I have are very important to me. I’m also glad that we can share the people important to us like this.” Sena beamed widely, his cheeks flushed with exertion and joy.

“Yeah.”

A young woman, maybe just a few years younger than them, skated by, only to fall to the ground with a loud jarring thud. Her group of friends burst into giggles. Shin scowled towards them, but Sena was already on his knees.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes,” the girl said breathlessly. “I’m Hana.”

“Oh, okay,” Sena said with a surprised blink. “I’m Sena. Do you need help?”

“I think, maybe, yes?”

Shin watched at something flicked a switch behind Sena’s eyes and he became completely professional. He asked a series of questions about the pain and what happened, which the girl stuttered over answering while her friends giggled.

“Let’s go check your ankle. Seijuuro, do you mind waiting with our friends? I just want to make sure it’s not serious,” Sena said. Shin scowled, but nodded once, tightly. Sena watched him go, a little baffled, before the girl, Hana, touched his arm. “Oh, sorry, here, lean on me,” he said quickly.

“Okay,” she agreed, hand tightening on his upper arm. She still sounded a little breathless. Did she have asthma?

He half-carried her to a bench and helped her take off her skate. When her trouble with breathing increased, he asked about asthma and if she had an inhaler, which she denied. He frowned but continued checking her ankle.

“Oh, man, it happened again, didn’t it?” Suzuna said, leaning over the barrier next to Shin. She patted Shin’s arm sympathetically. “It’s a girl this time, so it’ll be over quickly.”

“Will he blurt out ‘I’m gay’ really loudly, or just not notice she’s flirting at all?” Riku asked dryly.

“5000 yen on ‘ _I’m gay_ ’ really loudly. Girls still scare him,” Suzuna said with a grin. Karin burst into giggles and then blushed pink.

“S-sorry, it’s just, that’s almost exactly what happened on our first blind date.”

“This happens that often?” Banba asked. He glanced over and nodded. “Makes sense. He’s a lot more approachable than most Alphas are.” He smirked dryly, being the ‘unapproachable Alpha’ stereotype himself. His half-Egyptian features also had people hesitant to approach in a homogeneous country like Japan.

“He thinks because in high school he Presented so late and was bullied for so long that everyone _still_ thinks like that,” Mamori said sadly. “He was too scared to date for years because of that. He hasn’t noticed that no one thinks that way outside of high school.”

“Even in high school he was a hot commodity by third year. He just thought they were asking him for favors, not _dates_ ,” Suzuna pointed out. She began to giggle. “He used to keep a schedule for all the clubs he helped out, and when people asked him out, he would ask them what club they were from so he could pencil them in.”

Shin grunted quietly, shoulders tight. Mamori reached over to pat his hand. It was the same hand where the bright red wristband Sena had given him rested. “It’s going to be fine, really, Shin-san. If anything, he’s going to shout ‘I’m gay and that’s my boyfriend’ in the same breath. He can’t go five minutes without bragging about you.”

“It’s probably a condition,” Riku said darkly. He grunted when Suzuna punched his shoulder.

“Actually… On that picnic date, he wasn’t all that bothered about me being on the phone. When I told him I was dating someone else, he just looked _relieved_ ,” Sakuraba remembered with a small smile.

Across the way, they heard Sena tell the young woman she seemed to be fine, but maybe she should rest a bit. For a moment, Shin actually seemed to relax as Sena got to his feet.

“Here it comes,” Suzuna whispered.

“You are far too entertained by this, Suzupin,” Mamori said primly.

“Could I… could we exchange Lines?” the Hana girl was asking.

“Oh, do you think you’ll need advice? I’m sure everything’s fine, really. You should see your doctor if you feel pain later, though. I’m still a student. Actually, my friend is nurse...”

“Ooof,” Yamato said, grinning. “He really is oblivious.”

Riku was looking towards the group of friends the girl came from, snorting at them giving her go-ahead motions behind Sena’s back.

“N-no, I mean… Maybe we could go out… sometime? Just us?”

“Just us?” Sena repeated in confusion. “Do you want skating lessons?” Everyone in Sena’s group choked and facepalmed. “I’d be a terrible teacher. But I can ask Suzuna, my friend over--”

“I mean like a date!”

Silence.

“What?! Oh.. no, I’m-- I’m here with-- I have a--”

Shin didn’t really hide the smirk. 

“Oh, plot twist! Of course he’d mention the boyfriend first,” Suzuna said, snapping her fingers with a tch.

“I don’t mean now, I don’t want to interrupt your time with your friends,” she smiled prettily up at the flustered Sena. He was finally looking towards his friends, bewildered and terrified. Suzuna winked. Everyone else was barely restraining their laughter and _no help at all_.

“That’s th-thoughtful, but I mean I’m here _with_ someone. I have a boyfrien--”

“Wait… that… that’s your boyfriend?” the girl blurted. She actually frowned in the group’s direction. As if noticing they might hear her, she leaned forward and covered the side of her mouth with a hand. She looked almost concerned as she said something quickly and quietly.

Shin suddenly stiffened all over, hands clenched in fists. Next to him, Banba scowled thunderously, but his hand fell on his shoulder to hold him in place. Sena’s friends looked over at him in confusion, Sakuraba and Takami with sad frowns.

“What. Did. You. Say.”

Everyone snapped their attention back to Sena. It was a tone of voice they’d never heard from him. Ever. His eyes, when they looked, were burning red. Hana cowered, her eyes flashing an Omega gold.

“Actually, I’m _gay_ so even if you were the last _real_ _Omega_ left on Earth, I’d still say no. Don’t you ever talk about someone like that, especially not _him_ like that ever again.”

Sena’s friends inhaled sharply at the implication. Shin’s friends, and Shin himself, all frowned so sharply their lips turned white.

“You don’t have to be so mad! I didn’t mean it like--” She reached out to touch his arm.

Sena jerked away and moved to stomp towards his friends. Only he’d forgotten he was still wearing skates. A hand, large and familiar, grabbed his arm and held him up. He gasped slightly, red eyes fading back to their normal brown in surprise when he looked up to see Shin. Who’d moved towards them the moment she’d tried to touch Sena.

“Seijuuro,” Sena said dumbly. The scent of distress and fury rolled off of him and had Sena’s eyes burning red again. “Hey.” Shin closed his eyes and inhaled sharply. Sena cupped Shin’s face in his hands. Carefully balancing on the brakes on the front of the skates, Sena stood up on his toes and pressed a kiss to Shin’s mouth. “Hey, let’s get out of here. We had plans for dinner somewhere else, anyway. This place isn’t fun anymore.”

“Yeah.” Shin touched his forehead to Sena’s.

The entire group were waiting for them, skates already off and glares in the group of girls’ direction.

Shin left to turn in his and Sena’s skates with Mamori. Sena watched him go, gnawing his bottom lip. Takami and Yamato were coming back with the manager of the rink looking very serious. Suzuna, Karin, and Riku gathered close around Sena, their familiar scents soothing his agitation.

“What did she say?” Suzuna whispered, actually subdued for once.

Sena snarled, eyes flashing red again.

“That he’s not a proper Omega? That you deserve a better one?” Banba asked dryly. Sena’s three friends stared over at Banba while Sena just growled louder.

“It happens a lot,” Sakuraba said with a sad smile. “Shin’s good at ignoring it, but he hasn’t dated much. Not that he’s ever really been interested.”

“It happens a lot at the gym. He gets approached either by people thinking he’s an Alpha and getting _mad_ at him when they realize he’s not, or worse, from other people trying to give him ‘advice’,” Banba said with a low growl to his own voice. "Usually asshole Alphas."

“Advice?” Riku repeated in confusion.

“That he should stop working out so much and act like a real Omega.”

Sena flinched, scowling furiously. “He _is!_ He’s _perfect_. They’re all _stupid_. Who do they think they are? And _her_ ,” Sena whirled around. His red eyes found the group of young women, all being led out by the manager. Takami and Yamato were watching them leave, looking grimly smug. “What made her think she had the right to say that?”

“They’re all gone now. Takeru and Takami-san took care of it,” Karin said. She reached out to rub her hand on his cheek. He rumbled for a minute, then pulled away.

“Thanks, Karin-san. I think I need to rub my face all over my _real Omega’s_ face, though. I’m going to feel weird until I do,” Sena admitted with slowly reddening cheeks, his eyes fading to their normal brown, only a ring of red around the irises. “I just wish…” he sighed softly. “I should ask for a shirt of his. She made a… a comment about my scent. Now I feel like… like nothing fits right.” His shoulders shifted awkwardly, he winced when he noticed Shin was already walking back with Mamori.

“I should’ve thought of that earlier,” Shin said roughly, obviously having heard the last comments. He handed over a shirt and Sena realized why Shin hadn’t come back sooner when he recognized it for the undershirt he’d had on beneath his tee. The scent on it was still rather faint, mostly the scent of detergent. “I take ‘blockers. I never even think about it.”

Sena nodded. “I’d noticed. I don’t mind, really.” He smiled reassuringly up at Shin. “But I like the shirt anyway.” Shin’s mouth softened slightly, but it wasn’t the same as usual.

Sena spent rest of the evening wearing that black undershirt under his collared overshirt and all but glued to Shin’s hip. If a stranger came too close, both of them tensed all over until the stranger walked away. Their friends very politely said nothing and were careful not to touch them, either.

* * *

Sometimes Sena really missed Monta. It’d been just a few months, but there were still stretches of time when it was _too quiet_. No wild mutterings and pencils slashing through words on a page, no mini-TV blasting whatever sports game was playing that day, no explosions and cussing at whatever game was on his handheld-- or on the mini-TV when he roped Sena into playing with him, and no crunch and crinkle of his thousands of snacks. He’d gotten so used to the noise over the past few years that, without it, Sena felt _wrong_. _Itchy_. Monta should be _there_ and he wasn’t. He was (a few) hours away by bullet train in Osaka.

And other times, Sena was really really glad Monta was (a few) hours away in Osaka.

He had his iPad in one hand, scrolling through his latest advanced biomechanics online reading quiz, and his other hand was slowly combing through Shin’s soft, silky hair, fingertips tingling where the hair was buzzed short. Shin was quietly reading an _actual_ book, some novel Sena had maybe heard of in a history textbook. It was ridiculously domestic and soothing. He wasn’t sure how much of what happened at the skating rink had been the catalyst, but they were spending more and more time together. Recently, Sena had been able to pick up Shin’s scent better, too. Even after he left the room, Sena’s pillows and sheets would still have the smell of him lingering. It was probably the best Sena had ever slept in his entire life. He’d always been a light sleeper, prone to wildly vivid dreams and anxious tossing and turnings, even insomnia before exams and big track meets.

Shin being in his dorm, even though he was quiet and had a completely different energy than Monta, definitely helped push that itchy, wrong feeling away.

An alarm went off and Sena absently swiped it off his screen. Shin’s book closed and he sat up on an elbow. He looked so rumpled and sleepy, with his spiky hair spikier and wilder than ever thanks to Sena’s fingers running through it.

“Good luck on your quiz. I’ll see you Saturday,” Shin said with his customary bluntness. Never wasted words, this one. Sena huffed and leaned down to touch his cheek to Shin’s.

“You could stay instead.”

A pin could’ve dropped.

Sena sat up straight, eyes too wide and face redder than ever. “Oh my god, did I _say_ that? I _said_ that, I didn’t mean to _say that,_ ” he squeaked in horror.

“So you didn’t mean it?” Shin asked as he sat up properly, scowling. Sena’s hands waved frantically, his iPad almost smacking his face.

“Well, of _course_ I meant it! I hate it when you go, I don’t just mean because I’m used to having a roommate and sometimes I feel a little lonely. I mean, I _do_ , but I don’t want to imply I’m, like, asking you to fill in for Monta. That’d just be weird. I just really hate it when _you_ go. But you should go. Me asking… just _asking like that_ , that was super inappropriate _Mmrrph_?”

A hand covered Sena’s babbling mouth while Shin glared at him.

“You feel lonely?”

Sena huffed and rolled his eyes. “ _Mmn!_ ” he mumbled emphatically with a shake of his head. Shin removed his hand, mouth twitching. “No! Just… it’s weird, but I’m fine. It’s been better, a lot better, since you’ve been coming over.” He smiled brightly and laid his hand over Shin’s. “I have a lot a friends, you know that, I’m just used to one living with me. It’s nothing.”

“But you _do_ want me to stay?”

Sena blushed brightly and glanced away. “Yeah. I like… I like how we’ve been going. The dates, and getting to know each other, and meeting each other's parents and friends. It feels serious, you know?”

“It _is_ serious. Do you think it’s not?” Shin asked, actually sounding pissed for a second.

“I _know_ it’s serious! But we’ve kissed like five times and I see you maybe three times a week! Sometimes… sometimes I just want _more_ , don’t you?” Sena asked, frowning slightly as he looked over at Shin. Who looked shellshocked. “Don’t you want… to spend more time together?” he asked, voice dropping into a whisper of hurt confusion.

Was he the only one who was left feeling dissatisfied with their snatched minutes and hours? Who wished they could’ve kissed longer, or more? Who wanted to spend an entire night together, learning the weight and shape of each other in the bed side by side? He _knew_ he’d hit the jackpot on basically his first try. Despite the series of summer dates, Shin was, in the end, his first real relationship. With the way they were going, it looked like it was a ‘first and only’ kind of deal (for himself, he wasn’t actually sure about it being the same for Shin, though what Sakuraba had said at the rink implied it... but he just… wasn’t ready to ask, not yet).

Thankfully, Shin broke through Sena’s downward spiraling anxiety with a quiet scoff. “Of course.”

“Of course…? Oh,” Sena grinned with relief, pressing his hand over his rapidly beating heart. “Oh good.”

“I just wasn’t sure if you wanted to have sex. I think I misunderstood,” Shin said. Sena inhaled and immediately choked on air.

“Wh-wh-what?” Sena wheezed. Shin patted his back.

“Hm, I did.”

“Do _you_?” Sena demanded incredulously.

“We hadn’t discussed it, so I hadn’t thought about it.”

“Think about it now!” Sena exclaimed. He tossed his iPad down to his backpack and turned his full attention to Shin. “I would like to, in a heartbeat, _yes, please_.”

Shin’s eyebrow slowly raised. “Did you just say ‘yes, please’ about sex?”

“MAYBE!” Sena’s hands waved around. “That’s on the table? You never said that was on the table! Again with the _kissed five times_ thing. I wasn’t sure you… I wasn’t sure you _wanted_ me like that.”

“We’ve kissed more than five times. Also, why in the world would I not want you like that?” Shin repeated, baffled.

“I’m not exactly… I mean…” Sena floundered and ran a hand through his hair. “I’m not exactly the best Alpha over here. I know suppressants block Heats, too, so-”

Shin’s hands cupped Sena’s face and had him looking up, right in Shin’s dark gaze. He looked confused and angry, scowling fiercely.

“You are _exactly_ the best Alpha. I couldn’t give less of a damn about what other people think an Alpha should look or act like, and neither should you. If I cared about those things, I wouldn’t be the person _I_ am. Do you think I’m less than other Omegas because of how I look and act?”

“No,” Sena’s eyes flashed red. He knew exactly how people talked about Shin, the casual way that girl had told him he deserved a _real_ Omega still grated at and infuriated him. “You’re _perfect_ , Seijuuro.”

“That’s a hyperbole,” Shin said, his mouth finally softening. Sena’s shoulders slumped in relief, then he grabbed Shin’s wrists and turned his face to nuzzle against the pulsepoint of one.

“Nope. Not a hyperbole. Everyone else is just _dumb_. For once, I’m the smartest person in Tokyo.”

Shin leaned forward and laughed lightly, that quiet, raspy sort of chuckle that always made Sena want to preen. _He_ caused that. His stone-faced and too-proud Shin, laughing because of _him_.

“And Sena?”

“Mm?” He was getting used to Shin’s scent, which was always a little faint, but this close and in person, Sena was getting loopy from it again. He was kinda glad he was so weak to Omega pheromones. Imagine if he hadn’t been able to catch of scent of this? …Was it stronger than before, though?

“We don’t need a Heat or a Rut to have sex. You realize that, right?”

Sena froze and woodenly looked up towards Shin. “Eh?”

“Just because we’re an Alpha and Omega doesn’t mean we _have_ to. It’s just helpful when it’s happening to be with another Alpha or Omega.”

“I take it back,” Sena said faintly. Shin’s eyebrows rose. “I _am_ the dumbest person in Tokyo.”

“Another hype--”

Sena cut _him_ off this time, climbing right onto Shin’s lap, mouth slanting over his, and sliding his hands into Shin’s silky hair. There was a quiet surprised noise, and then Shin’s arms wrapped around his waist, pinning him closer. He loved the feel of Shin’s mouth under his, the brushing of his hair over Sena’s forehead, the sound of their lips together. The way Shin’s eyes slid half-closed and his breath panted over Sena’s lips had goosebumps sliding up and down Sena’s spine every single time it happened. As much as he joked about it only being five times, they actually had kissed more than that, mostly here, in Sena’s dorm, for long, blissful minutes that felt too short and like eternities at the same time.

He broke away too soon and let his eyes dart over Shin’s face, drinking in _this_ expression. Open, unguarded, and just for Sena.

“Does that mean you’ll stay?” he asked, voice more breathless than he’d intended.

“Yes.”

“And we’re… we can…” Sena’s face heated, outright burning when Shin smirked up at him. “We can have sex,” he forced out as clearly and stutter-free as possible.

“Yes.”

“Thank god,” Sena breathed out. Shin actually laughed again. Seizing his opportunity, Sena shoved Shin onto his back and held himself over his much larger and stronger boyfriend. There was a muffled _oof_ and Shin was staring up at him in mild bemusement. “You’re going to let me take care of you, right?”

Shin’s eyes flashed their pretty Omega gold-- something that Sena almost never got to see-- and he grinned widely. This was the stuff of _fantasy_. Being allowed to undressed Shin as slowly as he wanted, press his nose, his fingers, his lips to every inch of skin he bared. Both of them huffing, Sena even laughing, when legs or arms got in the way of getting layers _off_. Hearing the increasing thump of Shin’s heart, the hitch of his breath when Sena’s lips traced over a nipple, a line of muscle, down to his belly button. He got to Shin’s thighs, pressed his teeth right where Shin’s scent was strongest, and he knew it was beyond fantasy. Shin shook under his mouth, actually _shook_ , and Sena could hear the creak of his sheets in Shin’s fists when Sena’s sucked a dark mark on that smooth patch of skin. No fantasy was as good as this.

Sena pulled away and swiped is thumb over the mark, a heavy pleased feeling in his chest. _Mine_. He forced his eyes away, up the length of Shin’s torso to meet his eyes. “So… I actually don’t know what I’m doing, so you have to tell me, okay?”

“You’re… you’re doing fine,” Shin said through gritted teeth. “Though, I don’t have any more experience than you.”

Sena stared, trying to not drop his jaw. He didn’t even realize his eyes were red, just that there was something odd about his vision. “Eh? Really?”

“I’ll talk about it later. We’re in the middle of something,” Shin said, getting up on his elbows. Sena quickly moved to press his hand down on Shin’s chest, the other still holding Shin’s thigh.

“Wait wait, don’t-- actually,” Sena moved back as a thought crossed his mind. _First, first, I’m going to be first?_ Shin scowled, but Sena was already gnawing on his bottom lip. “Yeah, turn over.”

“What.”

Sena nodded to himself and sat back a little further. He’d left his jeans on, though he’d lost his shirt and socks. He figured he’d needed as much help controlling himself as possible, and he was both thankful and _in pain_ now, his already hard length pressing against the stiff fabric. Shin hesitated only one more second before turning over with a quiet huff. Backs shouldn’t be so sexy, but Shin’s was definitely sexy. So was his very very nice butt. Sena closed his eyes, counted to three, and leaned up to press his lips to Shin’s shoulder.

“Since you’re not in your Heat, I gotta help you out a lot more, so just… let me know if you hate it,” Sena said softly. Shin turned his head a little, his arms under his chin.

“Hate what?” Shin asked, frowning, as Sena ran his hand down his back. His thumbs traced down the line of his spine, dug into the divots above his ass, his gaze utterly enthralled. His lips followed the path of his thumbs, tongue flicking over the small trace of sweat near the bottom of Shin’s spine.

“I’m gonna… well, I’m gonna try anyway…” Sena smoothed his hands over Shin’s ass, fingers digging in just enough to make Shin grunt, before loosening his grip. He spread Shin wide under his hands, one thumb brushing over his pink hole. “I’m going to eat you out. Okay?”

“What?” Shin asked, sounding a little dazed.

Sena leaned down and licked a line over his hole. He felt Shin jump under hands, and he did it again, a little firmer. There was a soft _oh_ sound, but he didn’t push away or say ‘stop’, so Sena tried again. Lapping at him, the heady Omega scent of him suddenly stronger, and Sena pressed closer. He could tell what was good just by the volume of sounds Shin made. A sharp inhale at the flat of Sena’s tongue, a grunt when Sena pressed his thumb against his hole, something almost like a keen when he fucked his tongue inward the moment he could. Shin’s thighs were trembling under Sena’s arms, his hips rocking back every time Sena pulled back, and he was so tight around Sena's tongue, slowly loosening. When Sena’s finger slipped in and he licked around it, Shin actually shouted into the pillow. And something sweet leaked around his tongue, tasting as heady as Shin smelled. Sena pulled away abruptly and rubbing at his mouth eyes wide.

“Wha- why did you,” Shin gasped into the pillow.

“You’re wet.”

“You’ve just been _licking_ \--”

“No, like… _Heat_ wet,” Sena watched, amazing as his second finger slipped in with as little resistance as his first. Shin gasped louder, hips riding back on Sena’s fingers and the scent of him thickened, slick making the slide of him over Sena's knuckles so easy. Sena groaned and pressed his swollen lips against the small of Shin’s back, tasting sweat and _Shin_. “You’re got wet for me, Seijuuro. Oh my _god_.”

“Could you _not stop_ then?” Shin asked, not quite angry with the way his voice broke. Sena giggled drunkenly.

“I don’t think it’s enough. I still need lube.”

“Not… not yet,” Shin said, almost pleading. His hips were still moving, small, barely controlled movements that had Sena pressing his free hand against the front of his jeans desperately.

“Okay. Whatever you want,” Sena said, trying not to sound proud of himself. Or weak. So weak for whatever Shin wanted.

He kissed his way down, biting the swell of Shin’s ass just once, making Shin huff. With a few pulls and tugs to guide him, Shin got up onto his knees and Sena bent down again to lick him out in earnest, scissoring his fingers to open him wider, to lick and thrust around his fingers. He was still so _sweet_ , and Sena was rumbling, almost subvocally, as he pressed in deeper, wider. Until Shin was loud enough to make Sena’s cheeks flush red at the noises he made. When his third finger entered, he pressed his lips to Shin’s thigh, listening as Shin moaned-- that was an actual _moan_?-- and a quiver went down his legs. Sena carefully pushed in, then dragged out, fingers curling. The sound, the low, quavering, _definitely_ moan that shuddered through Shin’s body that was the exact shape and sound of Sena’s name, had Sena inhaling sharply. He had to grab his dick in his jeans to keep from coming then and there.

“Okay, no-- I gotta, Seijuuro, I really need lube now,” Sena panted hoarsely, pulling his fingers away. Too quickly. Shin let out a sharp cry and slapped the wall.

They both froze at the loud sound. A moment later, the wall slapped back.

“Did you just _wake my neighbors_?” Sena hissed, downright feverish with embarrassment and need.

“I was startled,” Shin all but snarled back. His own face was rather flushed, so maybe it wasn’t just annoyance at Sena in his tone.

“Should we… should we stop?” Sena whispered, actually pained, but his eyes on the wall.

“... no…” Shin said. He turned over onto his back, Sena scrambled to move out of his way. “I won’t hit the wall again.”

“Okay, but what if the bed-”

“Where is the lube?”

“Uh… oh. The bathroom. With the condoms,” Sena said, wincing. “Don’t… don’t move!”

Shin raised an eyebrow. Sena _ran_ across his room to the ensuite bathroom. It had taken two years on the wait list to get this room, and he’d _refused_ to leave it when Monta transferred. It had been sheer luck that no Alpha or Beta was on the waiting list halfway through the year. Junk in his bathroom cabinet rattled as he searched through it. The lube was easy enough to find, something he’d shoved in here to hide when Shin came to visit the first time. (It used to be hidden under his pillow.) As he grabbed the few condoms he actually had, he stopped, stared at the sink and realized…

_I should probably brush my teeth… right?_

When he came out, he was red faced and his mouth was wet, but he had lube and condoms in hand. He stopped dead in the middle of the room, staring, stomach filled with _butterflies the size of bats_ , to see Shin stretched out over his bed. His face was pressed into the pillow, and one hand was between his legs. Completely ignoring the flushed-red cock all but dripping onto his belly, he was riding his own hand like it was _Sena’s_. The noise that left Sena’s mouth was too strangled to even have a name. He stumbled forward, shins knocking against the bedframe, as he all but fell onto Shin and pressed his mouth to Shin’s.

He felt Shin jump, freeze, then the… the _unoccupied_ hand buried itself in Sena’s hair. The kiss was a little frenzied, sloppy, with noises that would’ve had Sena pulling away in embarrassment if he wasn’t trying to tug off his jeans with hands still full of _things_. He tossed said things to the side, and he broke away with a whimper to properly get his pants off.

“You… you just… are too hot, what the hell,” Sena babbled around helpless laughter.

“You brushed your teeth,” Shin noted simply, brushing a thumb over Sena’s cheek. Then, brushed it and some forgotten smear of toothpaste over his jeans before helping Sena shove the last layers of clothing away.

“I figured I’d really wanna kiss you if we’re doing it like this,” Sena said, getting up on the bed and in between Shin’s knees.

 _Oh shit, we’re here?_ He leaned over, eyes a little wide, hands white-knuckling the sheets. His eyes darted over Shin’s face, tracing every line, the crease between his brows as the oh-so-familiar frown formed.

His hand moved to Sena’s face and Sena shuddered all over, eyes closing, turning to press his open mouth and nose to Shin’s wrist. The scent of him making him both woozy and more settled. _Present. Here_. Bit by bit his knuckles loosened, and he smiled, small and timid, down at Shin. Whose mouth softened into that barely there smile.

“Yeah, yeah, I really do,” Sena said, smile widening.

Shin barely took a moment to realize what he meant, then his hand pulled Sena down, fingers pressing just behind his ear, so Sena could brush a soft kiss over his mouth. He kept up the small, barely there touches of his mouth to Shin’s lips, to his jaw, to his neck where the scent was even stronger, and his hand searched out the lube. The click was barely perceptible, and he probably dripped onto the sheets before he managed to smear it over his fingers and join Shin’s where he was still open and wet. The line of Shin’s neck under his mouth tensed, and he felt the gasp that exhaled from him more than he heard it. After a moment, Shin’s hand moved away and only Sena was pressing in deeper, urged on by the rocking of Shin’s hips and the bitten back sounds. When Sena got back to three fingers, curling them upwards like he'd done before, Shin’s hand in his hair suddenly yanked him up as Shin’s abs contracted to sit up just enough, and smothered the sound he made against Sena’s lips.

Brilliant idea. His boyfriend was _brilliant_. Sena shuffled as high as he could, dropped the lube to the floor so he could brace himself, and kiss Shin senseless. The slip slide of their tongues making him as dizzy as Shin's overwhelming scent. His hand still moved, slower when Shin’s hips moved too fast, just to feel the irritated huff against his mouth, faster and hitting that spot that had Shin all but moaning, lips slack. There was a sound of plastic and Shin’s open-palmed smack to his chest had him grunting, startled. Slowly, this time, he pulled his hand away and let Shin dropped whatever it was in his hand.

“Oh… yeah…” Sena stared at the condom, feeling a bit drunk.

“It’s just a regular one,” Shin said, his voice hoarse and low. Sena squeezed his eyes shut at the sound of it, trying not to notice the twitch of his dick. _Not yet, not yet, at least get the damn condom on_.

“What?” Sena asked, leaning over the side of the bed to wipe his hand off on his jeans, grimacing slightly, and then quickly tearing the little package open.

“It’s not for knotting.”

Today. Today is the day he dies, he realized. The tinny, thin whine that escaped him would’ve been humiliating if he wasn’t gritting his teeth so hard it hurt. _Knot. Knot Seijuuro. I could_ \-- He shook all over.

“N-no. I don’t even have those. I’ve never… and in a Rut, I’ve never needed one. It’s just me,” Sena forced out past numb lips.

“So you won’t with me?”

Sena’s head thunked under Shin’s collarbone and both of them grunted at the impact. He didn't have the wherewithal to unpack that statement or the tone of Shin's voice right now.

“ _Seijuuro_ , please don’t talk about that _right now_. Anytime but now, because I won’t even need to touch myself to go off if you keep _talking about it_ ,” Sena pleaded, shaking. Carefully keeping his hips as far away from Shin’s body as possible, or he’d probably end up humping his boyfriend like a dog and _no one wanted that_.

Hands stroked down his back, soft and soothing, like petting a cat. Sena rumbled and smeared a kiss over the collarbone he’d just thunked.

“Okay, it’s fine. We’ll talk about it later,” Shin agreed. Sena nodded and sighed in relief.

Finally, after a few minutes, Sena rose back up and hurriedly put on the condom and leaned back over Shin. He was so much bigger than Sena, so much broader, and so damn beautiful. And he looked up at Sena like _he_ was the beautiful one. One hand gripped Sena’s hip, and the one stroking his back began to press. Leading him down.

If Sena had thought about it, he would’ve thought there’d be no way he’d be able to look his partner in the eye during this part. He’d be too embarrassed, too shy, too… _something_ , to look. But now, with Shin, he couldn’t imagine looking _away_. It was just Shin, his dark brown eyes wide, gold glowing around the edges of his irises. The heat of him, tight around him, the soft gasps they both made. He was shaking all over, or maybe Shin was, and then his hand reached out blindly, found Shin’s. And both of them were holding on tight, and Sena was chanting in his head _not yet not yet a little longer_ , until his hips met Shin’s and they shook all over again.

Was it supposed to feel _like this_? Like he was falling apart and being put back together at the same time?

Then, Shin’s hips rocked, the hand on Sena’s hip tightening-- was that gonna be a bruise later? _Fuck_ , Sena hoped so. He moved, pulling back and thrusting back in. And it felt _right_. The look on Shin’s face said the same. Then it was all he could do to keep it slow. Careful. His gaze locked on Shin’s. He could barely hear the noises-- the grunt and the quiet moan, the hiss of Seijuuro’s name, and his own-- falling between them. The sharp urging from Shin to go faster, harder, before he just _was_. It didn’t last long enough, not even close, before he could feel the heat building up, his hips moving faster, faster, the slap of skin as hot as the feeling of Shin tight around him. His vision was growing red, and he knew he was seconds away from knotting, and that would be bad, bad, but Shin smelled _good_ \-- oh.

He pulled out, pressed his mouth to Shin’s chest, and roughly yanked off his condom.

“Sena-”

“Seijuuro," Sena all but whined against Shin’s skin. And wrapped his own hand around himself. Just a few strokes and he came with a cry smothered against the beat of Shin’s heart, white bursting behind his eyes. When he blinked his eyes open, he was panting harshly, feeling wobbly and weak, and surrounded by the scent of _them_. “S’good.”

“Sena?”

“Oh!” Sena managed to push himself up, vision still a hazy red, to see Shin lying there under him. His belly was streaked with cum, and just below that, his cock still high and red. He was flushed and his pupils blown wide making his eyes seem even darker. “Sorry, I didn’t think… I thought maybe I was going to anyway. Knot you, I mean.”

“I’m glad you didn’t, but could--” Shin broke off, eyes closed and expression pained. “I was almost finished.”

“Right, right… I can help,” Sena said quickly. Shin’s mouth twitched.

“That would be nice.”

Sena bit his bottom lip, one hand trailed down the line of Shin’s abs. Then, stopped. He’d done this on purpose; somewhere in his dumb, Alpha brain, he’d thought: Shin could smell _more_ like _us_. The idea of just… wiping it off… it had him bristling. But he could… do something else. Sena moved his mouth down Shin’s stomach instead, ignored the confused sound Shin made, and licked a path down his body. More than a path, he licked Shin _clean_. He wasn’t sure he liked the taste of himself, but he was also tasting _Shin_ , the clear sticky pre-cum that trailed down the tip of Shin’s dick, the sweat that had pooled between them during Sena’s frantic rutting earlier.

Then, he pressed his lips to the head of Shin’s cock, a parody of a kiss, that had Shin’s stomach jumping below his forehead. He didn’t exactly know how to do this… but… they (whoever they are) always say wetter is better, and he figured they meant for this, too. He licked up Shin’s length, over and over, tracing the soft, silky head and sucking lightly. Which had Shin bucking under him. Sena moved back, set his hands on Shin’s hips, and looked up.

Shin looked _wrecked_. Eyes too wide and mouth fallen open. Sena was really liking that look on him. Well, in for a penny. Sena wrapped his lips around Shin’s dick and, carefully, tried to fit as much as possible. The next few minutes was a trial of errors, learning how to keep his teeth covered and how not to gag if he went too low, too deep. But it was worth the ache in his jaw for every punched out sound Shin made and the taste and weight of his cock in Sena's mouth, on his tongue. He could still smell Shin's slick, feel his hips moving restlessly. Without much thought, Sena stroked down Shin's thigh, pressed one finger back into where Shin was still wet and open. And then, Shin was curling around him, his hands tangled in Sena’s hair, a shout escaping him as his hands tugged upwards. Sena hummed and stayed down, although he did a horrible job swallowing, he hadn’t wanted to move away for a moment. Shin shuddered and fell to the bed, breaths harsh and rapid.

Sena pulled back, wiping the back of his hand on his mouth. A mouth that somehow felt abused and empty at the same time. If he had a kink, it was definitely wanting his mouth on as much of Shin as possible. The hands in his hair turned him and he grinned at Shin’s sweaty face.

“Was it okay?”

“Was it _okay_?” Shin repeated. His chest was actually heaving, and he was most flushed Sena had ever seen him. And he’d seen him right after a “gym date” with Banba, as Karin had joking dubbed them.

“Um, yes? It… wasn’t?” Sena asked, shoulders tightening. Had he messed up? He knew he’d cum too soon before, but…

“It was _okay_. It was definitely _okay_ ,” Shin said incredulously. “Do you think it wasn’t?”

“No! I mean, yes? I mean, I thought it was amazing,” Sena leaned forward and kissed Shin quickly. “I couldn’t imagine it better,” he said seriously when he met Shin’s eyes again.

Shin yanked him forward, Sena barely muffling a yelp, and kissed him _properly_. Almost painfully, tongue slipping into Sena’s mouth and making it a dirtier, wilder kiss than Sena had been expecting. He wrapped his arms around Shin’s shoulders and fell into it with gusto. No complaints. Ten stars kissing.

When they finally pulled apart, Sena was definitely rumbling again, pleased to hear the quiet purr coming from Shin in response. Sena rubbed his face against Shin’s throat, happy and pleased and _tired_. Yes, he was definitely tired and feeling downright drunk again.

“One minute. I’ll clean up in a minute,” he mumbled sleepily.

“I’ll do it,” Shin offered, his lips touching Sena’s temple gently.

“Nnhn, I’m the Alpha, I take care of _you_ ,” Sena all but sighed out around a goofy smile. He gradually pushed himself upright again and rubbed his nose against Shin’s. Shin stared at him, eyebrows high. Sena just grinned and climbed to his feet. Luckily, his hands were still on Shin’s shoulders because his knees were _weak_. When Shin tried to move, Sena quickly shoved him onto his back and glared. “I mean it.”

“I think you took care of me already,” Shin pointed out, but stayed put as Sena grabbed the miscellaneous things still scattered around the bed. He grimaced as he dropped the condom in the trash.

He paused, and then beamed at Shin. “I did, didn’t I?”

Shin huffed and rolled his eyes.

It was a wrench to step away from the bed, where the smell of them was like a drug, but Sena forced himself through the motions. Everything was cleaned up and his hands washed quickly enough. Shin appeared at the bathroom door as he wet a clean cloth in warm water, making Sena scowl a little.

“I also have to get ready for bed,” Shin pointed out. Only the kiss to Sena’s cheek and the borrowed basketball shorts Shin wore kept him from getting actually annoyed. He needed more clothes for Shin to wear. Yup.

They settled into bed at last, Sena all but falling face first onto Shin’s chest. He snuggled closer, arm around Shin’s waist, one leg wrapped around Shin’s. Both of Shin’s arms were wrapped around him, his breath ruffling his hair, and it was _perfect_.

“I really am the luckiest person in Tokyo.”

“I thought it was smartest,” Shin mumbled against the crown of his head.

“Mm, no, luckiest. Maybe in the world, not just Tokyo.”

“I don’t really believe in luck,” Shin said quietly. Sena made a soft noise back, eyes not even opening. “But if I did, I think you’d be the _second_ luckiest.”

Sena fell asleep smiling.

* * *

He was still smiling a week later, chin on his hand, eyes on the traffic outside the cafe. The sweet tortie cat, Birdie, was curled on his lap again, purring louder and louder for every gentle stroke over her back. Beyond the purring, he could just hear the rising and falling of his friends’ voices. After Karin had introduced him to Toebeans, it somehow became the new hangout spot for everyone (still in Tokyo). He wondered if he were going to see Shin that weekend and.if they'dhave time to come here together again. They wouldn’t be able to meet during Sena’s finals, and around the same time was his Rut, so he’d have to stay far far away. Would Shin let him borrow a shirt or something? He’d ask soon. Or maybe, if they could sleep together again, he could ask for Shin to sleep in something Sena picked out. Then, he could leave it with Sena. That would be nice. He smiled dopily at the thought. He was glad Shin always wore the wristband he’d given him months ago. It’d probably drive his Alpha instincts nuts if he didn’t wear it while they were separated during his Rut. Maybe he could ask to leave a mark? Somewhere easier to see than an inner thigh. Though… that was a very good place, too. Sena’s smiled widened, eyes glazed over.

“YO, SENA!”

Sena startled in place so badly Birdie fell to the ground with a ‘mrrph’ noise. She ran away, not even glancing back, ears low.

“What, what!” Sena yelped. He looked around to see four very unimpressed faces looking in his direction.

“We’ve been talking for about 30 minutes and you’ve been _ignoring_ us for 30 minutes!” Suzuna exclaimed, hands throwing up in the air.

“And you had a really weird look on your face, no one wants to see that face,” Riku added, scowling.

“It wasn’t weird! Just… well, it was really obvious who you were thinking about,” Mamori said with a chuckle. “I guess three, or is it four?, months is still well within the ‘honeymoon’ period.”

“With those two? It’ll be a year before that’s over,” Karin said, just as teasing. Sena blushed beet-red and sunk low in his chair.

“Please, talk anything else. What did I miss?”

“Only that Riku’s pregnant, Karin’s running off with the heir to the throne of Genovia, and Mamori has an evil twin!” Suzuna listed off.

“Are you confusing life with a K-drama again?”

Suzuna threw her empty cup at him. 

“For real, what did I miss? I’m paying attention, really,” Sena said, setting the cup and straw on the table.

“I’ve been offered a full time position at St. Luke’s International,” Suzuna said, flushing a little. “As soon as I officially graduate, I’ll be a nurse there.”

“That’s amazing! I knew you’d get it, but I’m sorry I wasn’t paying attention before!” Sena said with a grin. Suzuna leaned over to bump his shoulder and he quickly dodged it. They froze, Sena sweating lightly. “S-sorry, I didn’t… Sorry.”

“Oh, it’s December,” Mamori said. “Suzupin, it’s almost his birthday.”

Understanding dawned and Suzuna leaned back in her seat with a sheepish smile. “Sorry, I forgot.” He was always a bit touch-averse close to his Ruts. Even with a Beta like Suzuna.

Sena shrugged. “It’s worse this year than usual. No worries.”

“Speaking of that, are you going to be okay graduating? Taking your finals? We can set up an emergency study group!” Mamori offered.

“What? Why? I think I’m missing something,” Karin said with a frown. Her eyes widen and her hands began to wave wildly, looking guilty. “Not that I’d say no to helping you study, Sena-san! I’d love to help!”

“It’s okay, really! I don’t think it’ll be so bad this year. I already went to see the doctor and I might have suppressants in time, so I might not have a Rut at all,” Sena said quickly, hands up in the air. “That’s what Mamori-neechan’s talking about. It always falls right around the time of my finals, and I waste about three days, if not four, if the stress gets too high.”

“Ugh, sophomore year was a nightmare,” Riku muttered, sipping his coffee to hide the grimace.

All four of the longtime friends paled lightly in reminder. Karin head tilted in confusion.

“I had officially entered the kinesiology program and I… well, I thought I could handle three science classes in one semester,” Sena explained. Karin winced in sympathy. “The stress and my hormones kinda imploded. I think I was stuck in a heat room for… five days?”

“Six,” Riku corrected, scowling. “I forced them to let me back there to make sure you weren’t dead.”

“Oh yeah, I vaguely remember that. You brought me Gatorade,” Sena remembered, then beamed at Riku in thanks. Riku shrugged and looked away.

“That sounds _awful_ ,” Karin said sympathetically. She reached over to pat his hand, hesitated, and just patted the air above his hand instead. Sena chuckled. “I hate going through it, too. I got on suppressants a few years ago, I’m surprised you weren’t already.”

“Oh… weren’t you allergic, Sena?” Mamori asked.

“Is that why? I just figured Sena-kun didn’t like pills. Lots of people don’t,” Suzuna said.

“I didn’t know that either,” Riku said with a scowl.

“I remember because your mother asked me about _my_ suppressants.”

“Yeah, I am. Most of the usual suppressants don’t react well with my body chemistry for whatever reason. It’s rare, but it happens,” Sena said with a shrug. “I figured it only happens once a year, why spend extra money on medication from overseas? It was cheaper to just get a heat room through Enma.”

“They’re _free_ ,” Riku pointed out.

“Exactly.”

“But… why are you getting them now?” Karin asked.

Sena’s mouth snapped shut. Heat rose to his cheeks. Slowly, slowly, he slunk lower and lower, shoulders rising up to his ears. All his friends stared in increasing shock.

“Oh my _god_ ,” Suzuna whispered, the cowlick-stray hair all but twitching like an antenna. “You’ve _had sex_.”

“SUZUNA!” Everyone shrieked or snapped in various degrees of embarrassment. Suzuna just cackled.

“You _did_! Oh wow, _congrats,_ you horn dog! OH!” Suzuna gasped and her gaze turned wicked. “Is _that_ what that dumb look on your face was about earlier?”

“I’m not here right now, I’m not here right now,” Sena hissed desperately.

“Oh, you’re here, and you’re giving _details_!”

“Suzuna, we’re in _public_ ,” Mamori said, aghast.

“I… I think I need some water,” Karin murmured, fanning herself. She was almost as red as Sena.

“I’m getting water. When I get back, this conversation better be _over_ ,” Riku growled in warning, his blue eyes boring into Suzuna's. She blew a raspberry at him, and the moment he turned away,

“Okay, you have, like, 5 minutes. Dish!”

“Suzupin,” Mamori said.

“I’m not giving details,” Sena said firmly. Suzuna pouted.

“But that means I got rid of Rikkun for nothing. Just one question?”

Sena sighed and waved a hand to allow it.

“Why are you going on suppressants? You’re an Alpha and Omega. Heats and Ruts… those are supposed to be amazing if you have a partner. Especially someone of the opposite dynamic.”

“That’s not exactly true. Some people just don’t like them, and Betas can have just as good a time,” Mamori interrupted hotly. “Anyone who says a Beta doesn’t belong with an Alpha or Omega and uses Ruts and Heats as an excuse just isn’t very imaginative!”

Everyone stared at her. Mamori blushed to her hair roots and Suzuna whistled.

Sena cleared he throat and very carefully didn’t meet Mamori’s eyes. “If an Omega is on suppressants, especially a male Omega, he could get hurt. On accident. Because, um... they need more... help…” Sena said, voice getting smaller and smaller.

“Oh… that’s very true… I wouldn’t ask Takeru-kun to join me if he wasn’t interested in… that…” Karin said, her cheeks still red.

“That?” Suzuna repeated. Then, her eyes gleamed. “Do you mean _knotting_?”

Mamori, Karin, and Sena all hissed at her to be quiet. Even though they were the only ones in the cafe except for the employees by the register.

“But, is Seijikun-” _Oh, there’s a name. At last._ “Not interested?”

“I’m not-- I can’t--” Sena stammered. But he couldn’t help but remember Shin’s reaction to the condoms he had. _Okay, we can talk about it later_. Was… Was Shin interested in that? He… he had completed forgotten about it until _right now_. And he'd... even on suppressants and outside a Heat, he'd gotten _slick_.

“He stopped taking ‘blockers after that skating rink fiasco.”

Sena gaped at Karin. “He what?”

“Sena-kun, you didn’t notice?” Mamori asked a little pityingly.

Sena shook his head dumbly. “I just thought I was spending more time with him, so I could notice it better.”

Riku returned to the table and set the drinks down. Instead of water, he’d reordered everyone's favorites. “Is the conversation done?”

“Shhh, it just got interesting,” Suzuna said, eyes still gleaming. “How can you tell he got off blockers?”

“It's pretty obvious…” Karin said, blushing and giving Sena an apologetic look.

“Oh, Shin? Definitely. Sena _reeks_ of him these days. Is it news?” Riku said, nose wrinkling.

Sena was gaping again. He was flushed red and feeling like his life just got tipped over sideways. He could. With Shin. Shin might want to. What. _What_. He couldn’t imagine, with Shin-- no. No, he _could definitely imagine it_. He made a sound like a teakettle and Suzuna snickered heartlessly.

“I think this conversation is finally over. Karin-san, how's the manga coming?”

“Oh! I think well! My editor really likes it.” Karin beamed happily. “I think they like my redesign of the main characer. It’ll be hard work to get it all fixed before it goes to print, but it’ll be worth it.”

Whatever Riku’s reasons, Sena was just _relieved_ that it was over. Now that the idea of Shin getting off suppressants had entered his brain... It took a supreme act of will to focus on Karin’s latest update. He couldn’t think about this now. Later. Later. His leg bounced beneath the table and he sipped at his strawberry-mint juice to cool down. Karin admitting that the new character design was heavily influenced by _Sena_ helped distract him a little.

But only a little.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Scent Blockers =\= suppressants. One just sorta conceals scents and pheromones. The other works kinda like BC would, in that it regulates hormones that would trigger a Heat/Rut. Suppressants are usually combined with BC (birth control), but they can be separate things.
> 
> Welcome to my A/B/O TedTalk??
> 
> Oops, it's 3 chapters now. the next chapter is ONLY smut, so I hoped you enjoyed what we got here! lol There will be more! It was originally going to be a short outside of rut/heat scene, and then them talking it over, and going thru it all in one chapter. But... then... worldbuilding happened and I really wanted to put Banba in here someone. Because Shin & Banba are the best kind of friendship, FITE ME BRO. anyways. I hope y'all like this fic. I'm shouting BottomShin Rights in 2k20 LOL


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He really was the luckiest person in the world. Or the second, it was a reoccurring argument.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you my guest commenters! I didn't reply because I'm not sure you'll get the reply as guests, so THANK YOU!  
> And ofc, thank you to everyone reading, kudo'ing, and commenting logged in or not!  
> Technically this is the last chapter (ho boy is it long for the content it is...), but there will be another "behind the scenes Shin-anigans" that Keto (the artist from ch1!) and I cooked up in a private chat. Enjoy this... 10k of omegaverse smut. Sorry??? not sorry?? it's... probably the wildest I've ever gotten ever. I don't even know what to say?!!?  
> Just a reminder: Sena is 21-22, so he isn't QUITE as small as he is in the manga. Think his last appearance in the manga, ch333. Finally: Sena cusses in English. That's my personal headcanon. Just imagine him speaking all in polite Japanese and an occasional English cuss word thrown in there. (He never cusses in Japanese though)

“Um, Seijuuro…?”

“Yes?” He glanced up from the cat purring wildly in his lap. As usual, they were at Toebeans, Sena's strawberry-mint juice on the table, Shin's plain, black Americano next to it. This time, however, Sena had chosen this location for a _purpose_.

“I, um, have a … question, and I know it’s kinda public, but I didn’t want you to feel cornered or whatever in my dorm and it’d be weird to show up at your parents’ just to ask, and _—_ ” he all but spat out in one long breath.

“Sena.”

Sena stuttered to a stop. He could feel his cheeks flushing as he wrung his hand around the opposite wrist where his sweatband used to be. He glanced towards Shin’s wrist and saw the familiar faded-scarlet cloth and something possessive and _pleased_ within him had the tension slowly oozing out of his shoulders.

“Just ask.”

“Right.” Sena inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. “Did you stop taking ‘blockers?”

Shin frowned, obviously baffled. “Yes. Why are you making an issue of it?”

“No, no, I’m not trying to _—_ it’s not an issue, definitely not!” Sena exclaimed, hands waving wildly. He glanced towards the counter and lowered his voice again, “I was just asking if… if there was reason why?”

Shin actually looked away, a light pink burning the tops of his ears and down the back of his neck.

“What you said that day at the skating rink, do you remember?” Shin asked.

Sena’s lips pulled a little tight. “I remember saying _quite a few things_ , but what do you mean?” he asked. Most of his disparaging comments were about _that girl_ , not Shin’s ‘blockers?

“When you said that it felt like nothing fit right, because of your scent. How I hadn’t given you something of mine to wear, or even scented you properly _—_ ” Shin said, jaw tightening.

“Whoa, whoa, wait,” Sena interrupted _—_ actually _interrupted_ _—_ and Shin met his too-wide, too-serious eyes. “If you stopped using ‘blockers because of something some asshole said, or- or something _I_ said _—_!”

Shin shook his head and Sena broke off.

“No, I felt the same, that’s what I meant. Being on ‘blockers meant I also had trouble reacting to other scents. I did not really notice what it was, but I knew something felt _off_. That… situation made me realize what it was,” Shin explained, the slight downturn of his mouth the only betrayal of his discomfort. 

Sena’s eyes widened. “Oh.” He slowly smiled and reached over to lay his hand over Shin’s. The moment lingered between them, their gazes locked and completely blind to anything else.

“Why were you asking?” Shin asked after the moment had passed _—_ thanks to a cat demanding Shin’s attention. Loudly.

Sena flinched, his hand jerking over Shin's. Eyebrows flew upwards and Shin’s gaze became keen on Sena’s tomato-red face.

“My b-birthday,” Sena whispered. He cleared his throat and tried again. “My birthday’s coming up. I… I’ve talked to a doctor, about taking suppressants, but there’s a good chance I won’t have a prescription in time, or maybe they won’t work in time. They suggest at least two weeks before a R-” Sena squeaked to a stop. By then, Shin’s eyes were actually rather wide, his mouth falling slightly open, his hand not under Sena’s frozen on the cat’s back.

“Rut. _Yours_.”

Sena nodded mutely.

“I…” Shin’s mouth snapped shut and he looked away to breathe heavily through his nose. Then, he very seriously set the disgruntled cat on the floor and looked back at Sena. “I don’t understand what you’re trying to say.”

“Do you… Do you want to… with me?” Sena whispered, sweaty hands tightening convulsively on his lap now. “It doesn’t have to be this year, I can go to the clinic again, but… maybe, because you stopped taking ‘blockers, I was wondering if you wanted to… stop… suppressants, too?”

“That’s a bit of a leap,” Shin said a very tightly controlled voice. But he didn’t move away or actually shut down the conversation.

Sena nodded once. “Yeah, yeah, I know! But… once I thought that maybe you’d want to, I thought I should ask?” Sena said, eyes carefully on the puddle of condensation growing around his neglected juice.

“I’ve never.” Sena looked up, wondering if Shin was finished or not. His brows were pulled low, jaw taut, shoulders stiff. Before Sena could start his stream of apologetic babble _—_ he could _feel_ it building up behind his teeth _—_ Shin began again, “I’ve never gone through a Heat. I was already in sports by the time I Presented. I went on suppressants the moment the pseudo-Heat ended.”

“Oh. That’s fine! I’ve gone through it by myself for years! It’s really not a problem, it’s okay if you don’t want to!” When Sena’s hand gestured wildly as he spoke, Shin grasped one to grip it tightly. Sena _eep_ ed and tried not to wince.

“I only said that because if I stop taking them, your Rut could trigger my Heat,” Shin said, eyes boring into Sena’s.

That. That was very very true. Sena’s heart flipped over in his chest. Not all pairs managed to sync up, but if he stopped _right now_ , and Sena was already in a Rut… That woozy feeling Sena always got when he scented Shin too long came back and a dopey, open-mouthed grin curled up the side of his mouth.

“Yeah, that _could_ happen,” Sena said dreamily.

“I take it that’s not a problem?” Shin said wryly.

Sena shook all over to pull himself out of his own head. “A _problem_!?” he repeated incredulously.

“I wouldn’t be able to take care of you properly. I wouldn’t be able to even take care of myself properly,” Shin said with a frown.

Spine stiffening, Sena turned on the booth, reached over to grab Shin’s other hand, and met his eyes squarely. “Firstly, I know… _people_ and… well, okay, _porn_ , make a big deal out of Heats and stuff, but a lot of it is exaggerated. You know that, right? You’re still gonna be _you_ , and we’ll both go into it knowing what we want. It’s just… _intense_.”

Shin’s shoulders relaxed minutely, his eyes never leaving Sena’s face.

“Secondly, I’ve been through it a lot. I might… well, it’ll be different _with_ you, but I’ll know if anything bad is happening and be able to get help. And lastly, we don’t _have_ to if you don’t want to.”

“I do want to,” Shin said. He leaned forward and pressed his forehead to Sena’s. “I’m just not used to not knowing what I’m getting myself into.”

“That’s okay. I’m the Alpha, remember? Let me take care of _you_.”

Shin huffed, amusement finally smoothing away the deep lines around his eyes and across his forehead. “We could take turns.”

Sena grinned widely. “So… yes? You want to? This month?”

“... _when_ is your birthday?” Shin asked, frowning again.

“Um. Well… the 21st."

Shin’s eyes closed and he sighed in what sounded like pain. “Could you try being a _little_ less last minute next time?”

“Three weeks isn’t last minute! 40 minutes _late_ is last minute!”

“Am I allowed to bring that up now?”

“What? _No_. Don’t!”

“I think they serve pizza here-”

“Oh my _god_!” Sena burst into laughter, grabbed the back of Shin’s neck, and pulled him down into a messy (on account of his laughter and Shin’s tiny smug smirk) and enthusiastic kiss.

* * *

It was cold enough to snow, but, instead, Tokyo was just drearily grey and _freezing_. Sena’s breath puffed out in a small cloud as he walked up the massive stone steps to the just as massive front door. He would never understand how the Shins could be comfortable in such a giant, Western-style place. Seijuuro and his mother both looked like they were more suited for kimono and samurai swords, honestly. Though, the ostentatious _everything_ did rather suit Seijuuro’s dad _—_

The door flung open to the very Omega in question. Unlike the last two times Sena had visited, Shin Seisuke did not immediately reach for his hand to shake, nor did he go for broke and drag Sena in for a ridiculously excited hug-and-scenting. It had been both terrifying and exhilarating to be so readily accepted by Shin’s family, though seeing Shin standing a few feet behind his father with an exasperated squint of his eyes had helped a lot to calm Sena down when it happened. Instead of his usual and awkwardly physical exuberance, though, Seisuke just grinned widely and stepped back to let Sena in.

“I thought you were just staying a week,” Seisuke said, chortling as he closed the door. Hoshino, their house butler, was already holding out his hands for Sena’s coat and scarf.

“I’m s-sorry, is that… it’s okay, right?” Sena asked, freezing in the act of lowering his heavy backpack to the floor.

“That’s just a lot for a _week_ ,” Seisuke said, motioning to the backpack that was almost bursting through at the zipper. “If you change your mind, though, feel free to move in at any time. Juuri would love it!”

“Ah, I have… finals… and things, um…” Sena stammered, looking over at Hoshino for help. The butler just smiled and waited patiently. “Th-thank you?”

“You’ll move in eventually, so why wait?” Seisuke continued, the twinkle in his brown eyes giving away that he wasn’t quite as oblivious as he was acting.

“ _Eh?_ ”

“Shin-sama, please stop teasing the young sir. You have a plane to catch.”

“Hoshino always ruins the fun. All right, you boys have fun,” Sena squeaked and turned an alarming shade of red that almost crossed into purple. “I’ll be back in January with my wife finally in tow.”

“Wh-what? You’re… you’re _leaving_?” Sena asked breathlessly, handing his coat over to Hoshino with shaky hands.

“It’s almost Christmas! I can’t spend Christmas without my wife. I’m even bringing a cake. Won’t she be surprised? So you boys will have the whole house to yourselves. Except for Hoshino.”

Hoshino bowed. “I live in a separate cottage outside the main house.”

Sena’s head bobbed woodenly. All alone. With Seijuuro. In this giant house. For a _week_. It was all becoming really really _real_. He frowned suddenly and looked around.

“Where _is_ Seiju- Shin-san?” Sena asked.

“He’s upstairs feeling a bit under the weather,” Seisuke started.

Sena was immediately tensed to fly, eyes wide and red and bristling all over. “He’s not feeling well? He didn’t-!” Sena grabbed his backpack and was halfway to the stairs, Hoshino and Seisuke watching him with twin looks of amusement on their faces. Which grew when Sena skidded to a stop and spun around to bow at them. “Please have a good flight, Shin-san. Thank you, Hoshino-san,” and then started running towards the stairs again.

“He’s handling it better than he did at the museum,” Seisuke said with a loud laugh.

Sena tripped on a stair, then over-corrected by almost somersaulting himself into the hallway. He was really glad he was such a fast sprinter, because his 4.2 dash had him out of hearing whenever Seisuke most definitely started laughing again. He’d only been to Shin’s room the one time (the other time he visited he stayed in the dining room or sitting room politely getting to know the parents, the Shin matriarch calling in on Skype from Germany). But even if he’d never been or had completely forgotten how to get there, it wouldn’t have mattered. He felt a _tug_ somewhere behind his navel and he could actually _smell_ Shin. It was a whole lot stronger than usual after the past few months without ‘blockers, and the last two and half weeks without suppressants. Sena had to stop outside Shin’s door, press a hand to his too-rapidly beating heart, and breathe through his mouth roughly to calm down. He was _not_ going to walk in there and faint. Shin wasn’t feeling well and Sena was _not_ going to make it worse _—_ but _holy shit_ , why did it smell so _good_?

He knocked and tentatively opened the door. The only sound was an irritable sounding grunt from somewhere inside the room. It was a little dark, all the curtains pulled mostly closed, and it took a minute for Sena’s eyes to adjust.

“Seijuuro? Your dad said you weren’t feeling well…” Sena said hesitantly, slipping further into the room.

“I’m fine,” Shin grunted back. From somewhere. Sena’s eyes darted around the room, brows slowly pulling downward into a questioning frown. Where _was_ he?

“You don’t _seem_ fine. Why are the lights off?”

“... you can turn them on,” Shin said after a moment.

“That’s not the-” Sena sighed and flicked on the lights while closing the door. That’s when he made out the lump of blankets in the middle of Shin’s bed. Sena froze, then tilted his head slowly to the side. “Seijuuro… are you in the bed?”

The lump twitched.

“Seijuuro, it’s almost noon. You haven’t been in there all morning, have you?”

The lump said nothing.

“What the hell?” Sena dropped his bag to the ground and all but flew to the bed, crawling over the mattress to get to Shin’s tightly wrapped up body. He pulled enough blanket free to find Shin’s bright red face and irritable scowl. However long Shin had been wrapped up had the scent of him _soaked_ in the blankets and Sena had to curl a hand into a fist to keep his focus. “You really _are_ sick! Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I’m not sick, Sena,” Shin said with a huff and his scowl becoming even more severe. “My suppressants wore off and I don’t _like_ it.”

Sena blinked. Shin scowled harder ( _how!?_ ).

“Oh.” Sitting back on his heels, Sena pressed his fists onto his thighs. They’d gone to the doctor together the day after they’d decided to go through Sena’s Rut together. She’d patiently explained that the side-effects of stopping suppressants after so long could be rough, and gave them her emergency number. And then birth control shots for both of them. Shin would’ve remembered all that, so Sena figured reminding him would just piss him off more. If he wasn’t already calling the doctor, then it was just regular side-effects. “Should I… get you something? I think Hoshino-san might’ve left by now, but I can make tea… ?”

Shin shook his head. With a rough sigh, he slowly pushed himself up to a sitting position, blankets falling to the mattress around him. He had at least _four_ of them, all _giant_ and _thick,_ could be good substitutes for futons kind of blankets. Underneath, Shin was bare-chested and wearing only a pair of loose shorts. He ran both hands over his face and shook his head.

“I’m feeling rather muddled and I know I’m hot, but I feel cold. The idea of eating makes me sick, so the intake of my calories isn’t matching how much I’m burning and it’s frustrating,” Shin explained, voice tight and shoulders rigid.

“Maybe I could make you something. You should try to eat,” Sena offered. He knew it was him speaking, because that was his voice, but he couldn’t actually feel his mouth moving. There was the big klaxon bell of ‘Seijuuro is uncomfortable, must make Seijuuro feel better’ going off in his brain meanwhile a smaller one, like a tiny echo in the back of his head, went off with ‘Seijuuro is mostly naked, Seijuuro is mostly naked, in a bed, smelling like… like _that_.’ He shuffled off the bed, wondering if tap water would be okay; the bathroom was a lot closer than the kitchen.

Shin looked up, and blinked slowly. His hand snapped out, quick enough that even though Sena jerked back Shin had his wrist in his too-hot, too-tight grip and yanked him forward. Sena was back half on the bed, balanced on the toes of one foot and opposite knee, his free hand placed on Shin’s bare shoulder.

“You’re really _hot_ ,” Sena croaked. But Shin was shivering under his hand. With something like panic, Sena scrambled onto the bed again and wrapped himself around Shin’s broad shoulders, pulling up the blankets to tuck him back in. Shin scowled from under the fringe of sweaty bangs stuck to his forehead. “You look so uncomfortable. I’m so sorry,” Sena whispered, stroking damp hair away and trying to smile encouragingly.

“It was expected,” Shin said. Grumpily. Very very grumpily. Sena’s mouth twitched.

“Let me get some water, okay?”

Shin’s scowl got darker. Instead of letting Sena’s wrist go, his grip got tighter.

“Seijuuro, you gotta let go,” Sena pointed out, tugging at his arm. Shin’s hand convulsed, knuckles actually white, and Sena had to hiss between his teeth. “Okay, okay, I’m staying.”

“Hn.” The scowl lightened before Shin pulled him in closer.

“Wait, wait, at least let me take off my shoes. Is it okay if I take off my jeans?” At Shin’s jerky nod and loosening of his fingers, Sena sighed in relief. Throwing his sneakers, socks, and jeans off, Sena was back on the bed in seconds. He was already stifling in his layers of undershirts and knitted sweater, but he wrapped around Shin’s too-warm body and stroked at his damp, black hair.

“Get in the blankets,” Shin ordered, face pressed against Sena’s throat.

“No way, it’s hot in there,” Sena said, laughing. Shin grumbled irritably. “How have you been sleeping?”

“... not well.”

Sena sighed again and tightened his hold. He pulled them both down to the bed, one leg curling over approximately where Shin’s hips were, one hand stroking through his hair, and he pressed his mouth to Shin’s forehead. Being a great(or at least an okay) boyfriend, he ignored the sweat. It helped that Shin smelled so good. And that his grumbles sounded more and more like contented purrs. Which Sena matched with a low rumble deep in his chest, fingers never stopping their stroking. In moments, Shin was _out_. When Sena shimmied a little ways away, Shin’s face was slack and open, all his irritable and serious lines smoothed away. Sena traced the thin arch of one eyebrow, over curve of his flushed ear, down the line of his jaw, thumb pausing at the corner of his lips.

He still had a day or two before his Rut hit, but it felt like he was already on the cusp of it right then. Sena had wanted to get as much of his work and studying as possible, his few written assignments securing out of the way so he’d only have to worry about sitting exams in early February. It meant he’d barely had time to call Shin to say good night and good morning (text was beyond both his skills and his ancient Nokia) for the past _week_. So now, suddenly wrapped around him and knowing they would have _days_ together. Just. Naked. The whole time. Was overwhelming.

Sena’s arms tightened and he pressed his face against Shin’s hair. _Keep it together. Not the time_.

He shimmied away carefully, wincing each time Shin made a noise or his eyebrows twitched inward. Freeing himself, Sena began to unpack his bag. It was probably too… forward to put his things in Shin’s bureau, so he set the few clothes he had brought back in his bag, the books on the desk, and took all his bathroom supplies into the connected room _—_ _Shin had a private bathroom, what the hell_. With a sigh, he put his jeans back on, and crept towards the door. He glanced back, saw Shin frowning in his sleep, and went back while dragging his thick, knitted sweater off (actually gasping in relief) to tuck under Shin’s head. The frown instantly eased and Sena had to fight back a preen.

He was definitely grinning all through rummaging through the massive, shiny kitchen for snacks and water bottles. Seeing fancy electrolyte water that not even his teammates used, he grabbed some of those, too. He rather lost his mind and threw everything in a giant stainless steel pot to carry upstairs. Hopefully no one was gonna cook enough soup to feed an army this week, because that’s the only thing he could imagine a pot this big was good for. It felt as if a tight band around his chest loosened the moment he returned to Shin’s room. He set the pot full of things away, lost the jeans and another layer of shirts, and slunk back into the bed.

* * *

It was too hot. Sena was sweating in his single long-sleeved shirt and boxers. His hands flexed over bare skin and he pressed his nose closer to that smell. Even in his sleep ~~almost awake?~~ , it made him woozy, a groan slipping from his mouth. The pulse beneath his lips sped up and warm breath tickled the hair over his forehead.

“Seijuuro?” Sena murmured, breathing deep and wriggling closer. Through the thin cotton of his boxers, his cock rubbed up against the jut of a hip and he was suddenly and completely awake, gasping and aching.

Disoriented, Sena blinked until his vision focused. Somehow he’d managed to get himself into the blanket burrito Shin had made and there was just skin skin and more bare skin. His arms tightened around Shin’s back, fingers digging in just a little, as he pressed his mouth to Shin’s throat and rutted his hips forward, groaning at the friction. The breath tickling his forehead stuttered and Shin was moving _away_.

Sena rolled, hands on Shin’s arms, and knees on either side of his hips, pinning him to the bed in a blink. The glare of the overhead light fell on Shin’s startled expression, the slightest widening of dark eyes as his eyebrows rose higher, as Sena panted harshly, body quivering like a plucked string.

“S-Sorry,” Sena hissed between his teeth. “I… I don’t think I… expected you to move.”

“You’re fast,” Shin noted, hands resting gingerly on Sena’s hips. He just nodded, throat clicking around a swallow. “What’s your plan?” he asked after the silence dragged on and Sena held himself perfectly still. His voice was lower, rougher, and Sena hovered on the edge of something, eyes tracing the shape of Shin’s mouth.

“Plan?” Sena managed to force out.

Shin’s hands trailed up Sena’s hips, up under his shirt, dragging it upwards and baring Sena’s belly and back, goosebumps following his hands. “You pinned me down.”

“I did…” Sena agreed.

Shin huffed and his hands left Sena’s ribs. He whined, then shivered as those hands cupped his face. Pulled him down to brush his lips over Sena’s. _Oh_. Sena sunk his hands into Shin’s hair and _kissed_ , slanted his mouth over Shin’s and nipped at his bottom lip and licked his way past Shin’s soft exhale. Tasted the hot sweet taste of his tongue with his own just before he rocked his hips down. The feeling of Shin’s clothed-trapped erection against his own had them both moaning. Shin’s hands were on his back again, pulling him down so their bare skin could be flush together, hips rocking faster. He caught Shin’s tongue and sucked, letting him go to suck at his bottom lip, the line of his jaw, down his neck, mouth feverish.

His Rut had hit him early while in his sleep, surrounded by the scent of Shin and _them_ , and Sena didn’t even have time to be anxious about it. His body was moving on its own, Shin almost as eager to keep up. When Sena trapped that too fast pulse in his teeth, bit and sucked hard enough to leave a bruise, Shin’s fingers dug into the small of his back, hard enough that Sena was sure bruises would be left behind.

“It’s always like this?” Shin asked almost breathlessly when Sena finally released his neck and sat back, eyes red and satisfied.

“No,” Sena said, shaking his head, thumb brushing the hickey. “No, this is a _lot_ better. You’re here.”

Shin’s eyebrow rose and Sena would’ve blushed if he wasn’t already flushed head to foot.

“I wasn’t being smooth. It’s true. Don’t give me that look.”

The chuckle, rasping and low, had Sena grinning. It _was_ true, thought. Usually his Rut hit him like a sledgehammer, he’d wake up all but sobbing until his first knot. And then sobbing harder knowing he was alone. It was always a mix up some of his best and worst orgasms. His head was a lot clearer already, just having Shin there, hearing his voice and feeling the pressure of his hands; he was also pretty sure there wouldn’t be much of a mix of good versus bad this time. He sat up to yank off his shirt and leaned down to kiss over Shin’s broad chest, nipping over the perky tip of a nipple, lingering with his tongue when Shin jerked under him. He _was_ an Omega, he might actually be sensitive there. When he sucked harder, leaving his nipple a darker red and his chest heaving with the force of his breaths, Sena was positive he was. He let his fingers trace around the puffy red skin, pinching both nipples gently as his mouth trailed down the line of his abs. Whoever had a problem with Shin having a body like this was a grade-A dumbass. Or a sore loser. He sucked another mark there, large and obvious, an ode to perfection.

“Do you even _know_ how amazing you are?” Sena breathed over damp, sensitive skin. “I think I could get off with just you in the same _room_ as me and be satisfied.”

“I prefer… being more involved than that.”

Sena giggled, _giggled_ , against Shin’s stomach, hands leaving those poor abused nipples alone to trace down his ribcage, then sucked another larger mark just a little further down. Shin’s hand buried in his hair, fingers twisting until Sena hummed, scraped his teeth down the line of Shin’s hip to lick at his cock through his boxerbriefs. The resulting loud groan had Sena’s dick stiffening hard enough to make him hiss. He kept his focus on Shin, though, pulling the underwear down and off and licking the pre-cum away from the tip of his cock with little flicks of his tongue that had Shin jerking against the mattress. He wasn’t very large, like most Omegas, and interestingly enough cut, but he was big enough that it took effort to get his mouth all the way down, tongue circling the best he could. Shin shook under his hands, shouting out Sena’s name as he barely managed to keep from thrusting upwards. Sena ran his hands down Shin’s thighs, one wrapping around the base of Shin’s erection, pumping a little but also making it harder for Shin to choke him as his hips thrust up again. The other hand pressed under Shin’s balls, fingertips pressing to his dry hole. Hm.

Sena pulled his mouth away with a pop and Shin shuddered.

“What, Sena?” he blurted, sitting up on an elbow and staring down at him with wide eyes. Sena licked down his sac, both hands moving under Shin’s ass to tilt his hips up. There was a soft thump as Shin fell back to the pillows and raised his knees, holding his own legs up and wide.

“So good,” Sena whispered, rubbing his face against Shin’s inner thigh. “So _smart._ ”

“I should be saying that,” Shin disagreed, voice hitching when Sena kissed his way back down to where he lay bared and wide.

Sena made a small negative sound and traced Shin’s hole with his tongue, lapping enthusiastically. Shin’s head tossed back as he tried to rock his hips up, wanting more already, but he didn’t quite have the leverage. Sena took his time, fingers barely spreading him open so he could lick and suck at Shin’s entrance, patiently waiting to press his tongue in without any help from his fingers. Shin kept rocking under him, shaking and crying out each time Sena licked in a little further, harder; groaning like it pained him when Sena pulled away. Sena didn’t stop teasing until the taste of slick hit his tongue and he could thrust into Shin’s softened, puffy hole with barely any trouble. The shout Shin made of Sena’s name, the almost _sob_ as Sena pressed in a finger, had Sena grabbing at his cock to hold back from coming. He moaned against Shin’s body, two fingers thrusting in with barely a pause, slick coating his fingers and lips. So much _more_ this time. Sena was drowning the taste, the scent of him, head woozy and jaw aching, Shin rocking under him as his fingers dug into the backs of his own knees to keep them up.

“Sena, _more_ , I need more,” Shin gritted past creaking teeth. Sena ran the flat of his tongue up over his perineum, his balls, the length of his cock as his fingers sunk deeper. A soft hiss of ‘ _yes_ ’ and then Shin dropped one leg to bury a hand in Sena’s hair.

One of these days, Sena would question the hair-pulling thing, or experiment, but not today. He let Shin lead his mouth up and down his cock as he fingers thrust in time into that wet heat. His other hand he stuck down his boxers, wrapped around his cock, and stroked, taking off the edge as he whined around the length in his mouth, down his throat. He could feel the thickness swelling under his fingers at the base of his dick, and he _really_ wanted to get inside Shin. Want wasn’t a strong enough word. _Needed_. Would _die_ if he didn’t. He tried to carefully push in a third finger, but Shin’s eagerness threw careful out the window. He was sinking down on all three fingers, body shaking all over. The sudden slackness of his grip made it easy for Sena to pull away with eyes wide and mouth numb.

“Seijuuro? Are you-” He moved to pull his hand away, but Shin’s free leg wrapped around him, pinned him in place, and Shin was scowling down at him.

“If you ask me if I’m fine, I’ll finish without you,” Shin said shortly. Sena blinked.

“You could just say _yes_ ,” Sena pointed out wryly. He turned to press a damp kiss to Shin’s knee when he just rolled his eyes.

“Come here,” Shin said after a moment. Sena frowned.

“I should wash my mouth.”

Shin’s grip tightened in his hair and he sat up slightly as Sena followed the pressure of his hand. The kiss tasted like Shin’s slick and their tongues and Sena was moaning into Shin’s mouth. His hips rocked down again and Sena abruptly remembered what he was doing. When he curled his fingers, Shin whined into his mouth and Sena’s hand was wetter. So wet. If he was like this just off suppressants, what would he be like in full Heat? Sena pushed forward, tongue thrust into his mouth, breaths harsh and panting as his hand thrust in harder, deeper, angling towards that spot that had Shin shuddering and crying out past his lips. He spread his fingers a little more, thumb tracing around the edge of his hole. He was so hot and soft and wet, it was maddening just thinking about being inside him. Knotting him.

“Now, Sena, now,” Shin _demanded_ roughly, tearing his mouth away. Saliva made his lips looking redder and fuller, his eyes a dazzling gold that had Sena’s heart lurching in his chest. He nodded dumbly.

“Yes, yes, yes,” he babbled, fingers pulling free as his other hand dragged his underwear down. Shin winced, then helped get the last layer away and pulled Sena down between his knees. Sena’s cock slotted into place next to Shin’s, rubbing over the hot, sweaty skin and sticky residue of his pre-cum. “Are you sure… um, no condom? I got the right ones?” he asked, shaking hands tracing up and down Shin’s sides.

“We both took the shots. I don’t want to have to bother with them later,” Shin said, frowning slightly. Knowing how much more frantic Sena would probably get, especially if the Heat hit, too, he knew Shin was right.

But this was going to be excruciating. If he had felt that good with a condom _on_ — Sena inhaled slowly, forehead dropping to Shin’s collarbone as he exhaled loudly.

“Do you want one?”

Sena shook his head wildly, rising up a little to meet Shin’s concerned gaze. “No! I really… I _really_ like the idea of it. I need… just a minute,” he confessed, grinning a little sheepishly.

Shin frowned, but it didn’t look like the usual ones. It looked… softer somehow. Confused in a new way, like Sena had done or said something amazing.

“You’re… you really want this. With me.”

Sena’s breath stuttered. Then, he crawled up a little closer, sticky mouth pressing a kiss to Shin’s cheek, his ear, his jaw, his chin. Shin huffed, pushing Sena’s face away. Just barely, that smile hovered at the corner of his mouth, the hand that had pushed now cupping the side of Sena's face.

“Yes. _Yes_ , I do. I want this every day. Forever. I keep waiting for you to wise up and realize that I’m not half good enough for you, Seijuuro. If I could have, I would’ve put a ring on it in that stupid Italian restaurant after the third basket of damn _bread_.” He used one hand to cup Shin’s face in return, smiling an embarrassed little smile at the widening of those gold-lined brown eyes. “I love you. I’m absolutely crazy about you. I’m scared I’m going to knot you two seconds after being inside you, and that’s probably the worst thing in the world because if I could, I’d do this for _days_.”

Shin blinked, and slowly an eyebrow rose. “We’ll be in here for days.”

Sena rolled his eyes. “I _know_ , but I meant… the part where we’re gonna have to stop, even just to take a break. And… I wanna make sure you to enjoy it, too.”

His eyes widened as Shin’s lips were suddenly on his. He hummed and sank in to the kiss. Shin fell back and Sena followed, one hand braced on the bed, the other on Shin’s hip. He hissed into Shin’s mouth as his hand wrapped around Sena's erection, lined him up, and then dug his hand into the side of Sena’s butt to pull him down.

Sena saw stars. Red stars that burst behind his eyelids. He sank into the incredible hot clutch of Shin’s body with a whimper and gasp, Shin’s sharp inhale ringing in his ears. When he would’ve stopped, gathered his sanity and waited, Shin’s strength was still pulling him down, hips tilting up to meet Sena’s. He sobbed against Shin’s neck, fingers twisting in the sheets as he shook.

“It’s good, Sena. Move,” Shin whispered, hoarse and tight in his ear. His body moved before his brain could compute, obedient to the underlying need in Shin’s words. They both grunted at the hard slap of Sena’s hips. “ _Again_. Sena, don’t stop.”

This was what a dream was, right? Just months ago, he set a small bouquet on fire, and now Shin was begging him to keep _fucking_ him? Sena whined against Shin’s neck, heat licking up his spine, curling in his belly.

Then, Sena pushed up onto his knees, hands behind Shin’s knees like he’d held them before. Under him, Shin was laid out, his winter-pale skin flushed red, his cock even redder where it lay over his lower belly. Shin’s hands reached up to grasp at the headboard, the wood actually creaking under his grip, and his stomach muscles tensed as he rolled up into each thrust of Sena’s hips, his cock bobbing and leaking more and more clear pre-cum. Sena’s eyes travelled down where their bodies connected, mesmerized by the sight of his dick driving in deeper, shining with slick when he pulled out, just to thrust in again. His knot was already swelling, making them both cry out as it popped in and out, stretching Shin’s hole wider with each jerking motion of his hips.

He felt the coiling in his stomach tighten, a shiver run down his legs, and Sena dropped. His arms wrapped around Shin’s back, his mouth pressed open and wide against Shin’s throat, and he shoved in as deep as he could, grinding in as his knot swelled, locked them together. The shattered sound Shin made Sena grind in further, hips angling upwards until Shin’s legs wrapped around Sena’s waist as he rolled his body down on Sena’s knot and his whole body tensed. Cum slid up their sweat soaked stomachs, slick dripping down their thighs, his body tightening like a vise around Sena.

Sena’s eyes rolled back and his hips pressed in, harder and harder, cumming until his fingers and toes went numb. Shin’s hips moved again, riding his knot, and he cried out weakly, cumming a second time hard enough his body felt like it’d been wrung out. He panted against Shin’s chest, trembling like a leaf as his hips worked restlessly through the end of his orgasm.

“ _Holy shit_.”

“Hn.”

Sena pressed a slack kiss to Shin’s heart beat and looked up through half-lidded eyes. Shin was staring at the ceiling, hands on the pillows and curled into loose fists. Sena moved gently to sit up, both of them hissing, Sena having to stop and gasp through another small climax, arms barely holding him up. When he opened his eyes again, Shin was watching him with lazy, blown-pupil eyes.

“Was it okay?” he rasped.

Sena blinked. Then, he burst into panting laughter. He ended up clutching at Shin’s biceps, cumming again and grinding down until Shin gasped and grabbed at his back, body shaking through a small climax of his own. But somehow, they managed to laugh through it, shaking and holding on, hips moving.

They dozed, but didn’t quite sleep, until Sena’s knot went down. He forced Shin to drink his electrolyte water, which he did with a grumble. It was almost impossible to get him to eat the fruit or crackers, though, not until Sena jokingly tried to feed him. And it worked. They spent about ten minutes of staring at each other, Sena slipping each bite past Shin’s lips, heat increasing sluggishly between them. Until Sena’s cock twitched against his hip and he was shoving Shin down, onto their sides, kissing the taste of pears and rice crackers off his lips, dragging Shin’s leg over his hip and sliding back into the wet heat of him.

Shin was not amused by the crumbs in his bed when Sena popped a knot again and they regained their heads.

Eventually, Shin carried the by now weak-limbed Sena to the bathroom. He might’ve protested, but _he_ couldn’t have lifted _Shin_ , and he’d just orgasmed about a thousand times, so surely he deserved this. The quick shower became a very long bath. Sleepy and contented, their hands lazily traced the lines of each other’s bodies and dragged through wet hair, kissing like they had nowhere else to be. Because they _didn’t_.

They might have fallen asleep mid-kiss. Neither would’ve noticed if Sena hadn’t slipped under the water and almost drowned, his flailing waking them with a vengeance. They changed the sheets, mainly because of the crumbs ~~Sena had to fight a pout~~ , and then snuggled in again under the mountain of blankets Shin wanted.

Despite already knotting twice, which usually took a lot longer and would’ve made him into a inconsolable, half-unconscious mess already if he were alone, the moment they laid back in bed, Sena was on Shin again. Luckily, Shin was mostly on the amused side of baffled. And soon enough, gripping at Sena’s hair and gasping into his mouth as he got slick around Sena’s fingers. Sena babbled praise into his mouth, all but sobbing when he sunk in deep, already knowing exactly how to angle his hips so Shin would moan and shiver. They somehow fell asleep with Sena still locked inside.

* * *

When Sena woke, it was definitely the next morning. He wanted to immediately roll back to sleep. Who invented mornings? They were _evil_. But then he _smelled_ it. However nice Shin smelled yesterday, today it was so thick the very air tasted like it. Sena licked his lips, the rumble in his chest deep and heavy, his cock already hard and wide awake.

 _Heat_.

He turned, eyes trailing down the expanse of Shin’s back. He must have finally gotten tired of the blankets, because he had kicked them all off. Sweat glistened down his spine and Sena shuffled closer, nose pressing to the short buzzed hair of his hair line. He smelled so good Sena was pretty sure he might’ve fainted again if his dick wasn’t so hard it _hurt_. His hips moved, but he merely rutted air, not ready to touch Shin yet. At least, not with that part of his anatomy. That could wait. Sena pressed his lips to Shin’s neck, who murmured quietly, his own hips moving back. Sena laid a hand there to hold him gently, and Shin’s back expanded and collapsed in a heavy, sleepy sigh.

Sena kissed and gently ran the tip of his tongue down Shin’s spine. The scent of _them_ was getting stronger the further down he went, and the heady, dizzying scent of Omega Heat and slick, too. Finally, he ran his hand down the curve of Shin’s perfect butt, smiling sleepy and pleased as he squeezed just a little. Shin shifted, more onto his stomach, which presented more _butt_ , so Sena let him roll, pressing a kiss to the dip of his spine. Gently, fighting the rising arousal, Sena run his thumb between Shin's cheeks and had to gnaw his bottom lip, darts of pain to keep himself in check. Shin was puffy and red, but slicker than ever, and the smell of Sena’s cum was still on him, _in_ him, and he was so very very _very_ glad they weren’t using condoms. He pressed his thumb, the slightest bit of pressure, and he slipped in like Shin’s body was made for him. He definitely had a oral-fixation-for-Shin’s-everything, but he was addicted to the taste of Shin’s slick, the give of his ass under his hands, could eat him out until he came if he were allowed.

He could feel when Shin woke properly, the shudder that raced down his spine, tightened around his tongue as he thrust deep and moaned. Shin shoved back, a grunt of shock and need that had Sena pressing both thumbs to his hole and holding him open wide.

“ _Sena_ ,” Shin’s voice was muffled by pillow, interrupted by a louder groan. Sena pulled himself away reluctantly, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

“I woke up and you smelled _amazing_ ,” Sena admitted, rubbing his cheek against Shin’s back. “Are you mad?”

“No. Surprised,” Shin muttered. He rubbed his face on the pillow and peered over his shoulder. They’d actually turned off the lights, and whatever light was outside hadn't made it through the cracks in the curtains yet. Just barely, Sena could make out Shin’s sleepy frown. “I need…” His hands rode back into Sena’s palm and gold flashed through the dim grey light. “ _I need you_.” It was actually a whine, and Shin’s eyes fluttered closed, frown deepening.

“I know, Sei. I know,” Sena whispered against his back. Slowly, he kissed his way up, the line of his dick sliding between the wet crease of Shin’s ass. “I’ll make it better.”

Shin’s hands twisted in the sheets. “Not bad. It’s not bad now.”

Sena stilled, heart thumping erratically. “Yeah?” he asked hoarsely. His eyes closed on a soft exhale as Shin rocked back, pressure along when Sena was aching hardest.

“Yeah. It’s good. I like… I like how we smell together.” Their hands slid over cotton until they met, Sena’s over Shin’s bigger hand, fingers slotting together, squeezing tight. “If you don’t get _in_ me, though, I don’t think this will last.”

Sena laughed, but his hand moved down to line them up properly. They both sighed as he slowly pressed in, as deep as he could go in one smooth motion. Sena rubbed his lips over the middle of Shin’s back, clutched at Shin’s hip, and rocked. It was slow, slower than Sena thought possible of himself. But Shin was wetter, slick already running down his inner thighs, and hotter than before. Shin was moving, hips rocking in time with Sena’s, soaked skin slapping obscenely, both of them grunting, moaning, gasping with each steady, slow glide. His fingers tightened around Shin’s, staring at where their hands lay entwined, as his knot grew.

“Yes. Yes, that,” Shin rasped against the pillow, unconsciously moving faster, tightening around Sena whenever he pulled back. Desperate to keep them joined.

Sena’s breath was broken out of him in quiet sobs, shivers racing up and down his spine, and he felt every inch of his skin, every millimeter lit up wherever their bodies touched. “Seijuuro, _Seijuuro_ ,” he whispered, over and over, thrusting in hard enough for Shin’s breath to punch out of him. Grinding down to make that broad, wide body under him quake. When he tied them together, Sena was pretty sure they were both crying, Sena laughing between each shuddering climax.

“That was… something,” he murmured. Shin _hn_ ed quietly.

“I want to see your face,” Shin said after a long quiet moment.

“I always wanna see your face,” Sena replied nonsensically, drowsily. He felt the quiet chuckle under his ear and it made him grin dopily. “So, no repeat of this position?”

Another long moment of silence. “… only sometimes.”

Sena giggled for the second time in 12 hours. He’s an _adult_ , damn it. No more giggling!

The rest of that day was definitely the hardest (the pun was not intended, but applicable). They barely managed to finish one banana between them and a bottle of fancy water before they passed out for a nap. Waking up for Shin to be climbing on top of Sena, eyes too wide and hands heavy as he slipped down over Sena’s cock with barely any prep and basically rode them both right back into a nap, shaking and sated. They woke up, and only Sena pleading for Shin to eat an protein bar would get him to finish it and half of an apple. Then, Sena was yanked down into a desperate kiss that didn’t lose the edgy need until Sena slipped inside Shin again. They actually winced, Sena more in sympathy, but Shin was almost frantic, making _Sena_ too frantic to slow down as they raced towards the finish. Which took way too long, the knot almost _painful_. By the end of the second day, they were both too exhausted to make it to the bath. Falling asleep sweaty, sticky, and there were still crumbs in the sheets from the protein bars.

And the apple was probably still in there somewhere.

The third day they actually managed to eat before Sena was dragging a flushed Shin to his knees and against Sena's chest, mouths pressed messily over Shin’s shoulder. They fell into another exhausted nap within minutes of Sena knotting. Much later, Sena woke with a gritty _awareness_. He grimaced and all but oozed from the bed. His Rut had mostly broken, but the sticky sweet smell of Heat was still lingering in the air. Not so thick, but there. He stumbled to the bathroom, ran the bath, and made it back to the bed with an armload of new sheets before Shin’s eyes fully opened.

“Hey, you.”

Shin grunted, squinting blearily.

“Bath?”

Shin pushed up onto his hands. “ _Yes_.”

He said it with the same fervor he’d been moaning Sena’s name. Sena didn’t know if he wanted to laugh or kiss him. Instead, he just helped Shin limp to the bathroom and slide under the steaming water. There were more sexy delighted noises, and Sena couldn’t help the laughter bubbling out of him. Shin glared, even while Sena washed his hair.

“I knew you were beautiful, handsome, sexy, all those kinds of things, but you’re actually kinda cute sometimes.”

“Ridiculous.”

Sena grinned. “What’s wrong with being the cute one?”

“That’s definitely not me. That’s you.”

Sena blushed pink and helped rinse Shin’s hair. “Yeah? You think I’m cute?”

“We’re dating. We’ve just spent two and half days locked at the hips,” Shin said drily while water drizzled down his very unimpressed face. “Yes, of course I think you’re cute.”

“I don’t think it means what you think it means.”

“It means I like how you look.” Sena sputtered and turned to grab the cloth. Shin grabbed Sena’s hand. “Sena. Look at me.”

Sena’s cheeks heated to red, but he met Shin’s serious gaze. Somehow, his expression softened. Barely. But Sena could tell, he was _softer_.

“It’s true looks don’t mean much. I forget faces… quickly,” Shin admitted, eyes tight at the corners for a moment. “But every time I see yours, I don’t want to look away.”

His mouth fell open, feeling punch to the chest at the sincerity in Shin’s words. “That’s why… why you like it better when we face each other.”

Shin nodded once. Sena leaned down and pressed his lips to Shin’s forehead.

“I love you.”

“It hasn’t been six months.” His hand tightened around Sena’s wrist before Sena could pull away in humiliated babblings. “I love you, too.”

And then he yanked the widely grinning and amazed Sena into the bath. Water sloshed everywhere and Sena was shrieking, but Shin actually laughed, arms around Sena’s narrow waist and mouth against his shoulder, smothering the rasping, bitten-off chuckles.

Luckily, the Heat broke in the middle of the night, both of them sleepily frotted against each other, not even needing to knot before it was over with tired, soft sighs.

* * *

The last few days of Sena’s break, they spent lounging. Despite syncing up, it was probably the fastest and easiest Rut Sena ever had. In the aftermath, they kept having to touch each other, and if one left the room, both were on edge and miserable until the other were back. They actually ate real meals, Shin scowling as he wrote down what he remembered eating and supplemented his diet accordingly. Sena had to learn how to study psychology while Shin did one-armed push-ups behind him. He did _not_ appreciate the irony of trying to memorize techniques for ‘tuning out distractions’ during Shin-training-time. The first night after the Heat/Rut broke, they fell asleep wrapped around each other, barely a kiss good night, but blissfully satisfied.

The day before Sena knew he’d have to finally pack up and head out, he was reviewing his biomechanics notes one more time, but mostly watching Shin do weights in the corner. Because of course he had a weight bench and free weights. He didn’t have posters on the wall, but he had 20 lb dumbbells.

“Seijuuro,” Sena said, eyes watching the dumbbells lift up, fall down, biceps straining against the thin cotton of his white tee.

“Hn.”

“Think you could hold me up?”

“I have before.”

“No, I mean-” Sena broke off and turned to stare at his biomechanics book. The words looked even more like alien-script than usual. No sense to be had as his ears steamed red.

“What did you mean?” Shin asked frowning at the back of Sena’s reddening neck.

Sena glanced over, bit his lip, and then stared at his book again. “I meant… hold me up… _whileyoufuckme_.”

The dumbbells paused, then Shin very carefully finished his reps and set the dumbbells down. Sena waited, eyes a little wide and cheeks red, eyes glued to his book.

“What.”

Sena’s shoulder tightened around his ears. “Nothing.”

“Are you still in a Rut?” Shin asked with a suspicious squint. Sena sputtered, jerking away from the desk and half-turning around.

“What, no! Obviously not. I can’t knot you like that, and that’s all I’m thinking about in a Rut!” Sena protested, hands flailing. He paused, hands frozen mid-air and gaze in the distance. “Huh. Maybe we should’ve tried anyway. I like your hands. A lot.”

Shin got to his feet and was suddenly across the room. Sena eeped and flinched back against the desk, startled at how fast Shin moved. He sometimes… forgot… His arms caged Sena against the desk, scowl dark and eyes flashing gold for a moment. All surprise fled as Sena’s eyes flashed red.

“You never mentioned wanting that.”

“I… I didn’t really know how to bring it up? But I do. I want to… I want to do _everything_ with you, Seijuuro. Do you want to?” Sena asked, fingers fidgeting in the minute amount of space between them.

Shin gripped Sena’s shoulders, then all but pulled him off the chair to crush him against his chest in an almost painful kiss. _Yes, this probably means yes_ , Sena thought dazedly, arms slinking around Shin’s waist to hold on tight. Only for Shin to pull Sena’s arms away, and _lift_ him with a strength that Sena hadn’t truly felt yet onto the surface of the desk. There was a mad scrabble of books and pens being shoved away, some falling to the ground with a clatter.

“Oh… oh, you definitely can,” Sena breathed against Shin’s mouth, his hands already reaching for the slightly sweaty white tee that kept Shin’s abs hidden. Which was _criminal_.

“You’ve never… I didn’t think you wanted to,” Shin said, pulling away just long enough for them to both lose their shirts. They came back together in a collision.

Maybe their respective Heat and Rut _were_ still lingering. But… no. Sena was definitely this shaking and desperate during their first time. He locked his legs around Shin’s waist and dragged his hands through silky black hair.

“I… I really really like what we’ve done. Knowing I can make you feel good, that I can get you wet for me, it’s _addicting_ ,” Sena admitted, cheeks red and mouth quirking up. “But I’ve definitely thought about it the other way. I just… in the moment, I guess it was easier to do what was expected?” he frowned slightly, wondering if he was getting the thought across properly. He blinked and met Shin’s eyes, which had never left his face as he worked through his words. “Not that it wasn’t _amazing_. I mean it. 10 out of 10. Sex has been _great_.”

“We’ve established that already. It’s _okay_ ,” Shin said. Sena wrenched a mouth open, then stopped and squinted up at him.

“Are you… I don’t know how to deal with this side of you.”

Shin smirked slightly, enough that Sena boggled, then cupped Sena’s face in his hands and pressed their mouths together. Sena _mmph_ ed a bit, but leaned up into it with a mental shrug. If Shin’s sense of humor was a bit bitchy, Sena wasn’t going to complain. Not if he got rare smirks and mind-bending kisses to distract him. Shin nipped at his bottom lip before drawing it into to his mouth to suck lightly. Sena’s fingers twisted in his hair, tugging, to press their bare chests together, hips rocking forward. They groaned into each other’s mouth, both already half-hard and shuddering at the friction.

Shin was going to fuck _Sena_. The thought kept tumbling through Sena’s head, like if he said it enough he’d believe it. Every time it crossed his mind, Sena’s grip tightened, his hips rocked forward a little harder, a small whimper teasing past his teeth and the heated press and thrust of their tongues over slick lips. He might even be held up against a _wall_. Alphas bottoming was such a niche kink, no one ever talked about it unless it was in confusion. Especially between Omega-Alpha pairs. What’s the point?

Well, those people had 1) no imagination, and 2) weren’t dating Shin fucking Seijuuro. Who could literally bench-press almost twice Sena’s weight. And there was that super humiliating whimper again. If anything, the sound seemed to spur Shin on, his kiss rougher, teeth scraping over his bottom lip and down Sena’s jaw. He strained to lean up higher, head tilting to the side so Shin could more easily suck at his pulse point. A pulse was that definitely beating more rapidly than was probably healthy.

But… still too slow. Sena’s hands smoothed down Shin’s chest, his stomach, fingernails scratching lightly to tug at the elastic of his sweats. He gasped when Shin’s hands on his hips yanked him almost the edge of the desk, tilting him back until only the arm suddenly around his waist and his grip on Shin’s pants kept him from falling back. Trapped, unable to move without braining himself on something, Sena froze, panting, only for his eyes to squeeze shut at a hand struggling at the button of his jeans. Reaching down quickly to help, they managed it together, foreheads touching and breaths humid between them. Jeans, even his boxers, were kicked off frantically, followed by Shin’s.

Shin froze and Sena stared up at him.

“Lube. You need lube.”

“Oh. Oh yeah, I brought some. Just in case you needed it the first day,” Sena said, looking for his backpack. It was, thankfully, right next to the desk, still gaping open from when he’d pulled out his schoolbooks.

Catching his glance, Shin knelt, hands sliding down Sena’s bare legs. Sena actually _gulped_ , throat clicking. Shin’s hands. Those hands. _In him_. Okay, not the whole hands, but _—_ Shin had already found the lube buried at the bottom of the bag and was clicking it open. He looked up to Sena’s flushed face and red irises, eyes dark and rimmed in gold.

“You’ll have to hold yourself up.”

Sena nodded and clutched the edge of the desk in white-knuckled hands. Only to have his breath knocked out of his again when Shin stayed on his knees, setting Sena’s knees on his shoulders, eyes intense and dark on Sena’s hard and leaking cock.

“Oh, n-no, you d-don’t have to-!” Sena stammered, even as his mouth went dry, heart racing. He was bigger than Shin, and uncut, and what if Shin didn't like that?! Shin just scowled up at him and _that should not be hot_. He should _not_ have a Pavlovian sex response to his boyfriend’s scowl.

One hand tugged Sena forward, making him squeak and his arms shake where they held him up _—_ his legs were _much sturdier_ than his arms! Oh god, how long _—_ But then Shin was licking up the length of him and all coherent thought and legitimate concerns were flung out the window. Sena’s head fell back, teeth cutting through his bottom lip to keep in the sounds trying to force their way out. Being inside Shin? _A_ _mazing_. Shin methodically and carefully licking every inch of his dick? _Also. Fucking. Amazing_. Not moving, not reaching out to grasp Shin’s hair, not being able to do anything but hold himself up, was torture. He couldn’t even bite down on his own hand when he could no longer keep his mouth shut. He was whining out Seijuuro’s name, _begging_ him, just _please_ over and over again, and he couldn’t stop it. Shin stroked his hand from the tip down to the root of him, licking over the wet and exposed head, and Sena actually sobbed. He almost missed the gentle, cool touch to his hole. Until he didn’t miss it.

His elbows locked, his knees shaking on Shin’s shoulders, and he panted, harsh and loud, as Shin’s finger traced around the rim. Too gentle. And the mouth was gone. _Not okay_. With a supreme act of will, Sena forced himself to looked down, flushing ever redder at how just… _laid out and exposed_ he was, to see Shin scowling. That was the concern scowl. Sena could recognize it now.

“It’s okay. I’ve done it before,” Sena managed to say. Shin glanced up, eyebrows rising. Sena shrugged, tottered, and locked elbows again. “I’m twenty-one, uh, two. And I _said_ I thought about it before. I thought about it before I’d even met you. So, it’s okay. To go a little faster.”

Shin’s eyebrows stayed high. “I see.”

Before Sena could ask what that _meant,_ Seijuuro's fingers slowly pressed inward. Sena felt his eyes burn red, hips trying to arch off the desk, arms shaking. Shin still watched him, the intensity pinning Sena’s gaze in place. He leaned forward and ran his tongue up and around the shiny head of Sena’s cock while slowly pulling out, pushing in, so slow Sena sobbed out a breath, eyes locked on Seijuuro’s and shaking. Of _course_ Shin would go _slower_ while doing exactly what Sena asked for. His sense of humor was going to kill Sena someday. Probably during sex. His heart was going to explode. He whimpered, eyes fluttering not quite closed as Shin’s mouth drew more of him in, almost hitting the back of his throat. And still his finger moved so _slowly_.

When the second one pushed in along the first, Sena curled forward, crying out and tears filming the bottom of his lashes. He wanted, _needed_ more, want to shove Seijuuro in deeper, faster, but he couldn’t, or he'd hurt one or both of them. The desk was rocking under him already, when he couldn’t help the tiny, jerking movements of his hips. It was maddening, _perfect_ , the heat of Seijuuro’s mouth, the feeling of his fingers scissoring, pressing a little deeper, sliding just past that spot that had Sena shouting and his abs tensing. With the tight heat of Seijuuro’s mouth around him, he could even feel his knot swelling and the sheer _good_ of it had sparks building behind his eyes, in his belly, down his trembling legs and arms, everywhere.

“Seijuuro, _Seijuuro_ , please, please, I’m going to- I’m going to come _right now_ , please, I’m going to knot your mouth if you don’t-,” Sena finally burst out, desk creaking dangerously as he rocked down, then up, made desperate, but his muddled brain didn’t know what it wanted more. Those fingers and that mouth was suddenly gone and tears slipped down his cheek as he wheezed in shock.

Then, both hands cupped Sena’s ass and air jammed in his throat. Seijuuro was leaning over him, shiny slick lips slanting over his, tongue sliding along his, wild and feverish. Sena moaned into his mouth, hands scrabbling at Seijuuro’s arms as he arched closer.

The kiss broke wet and messy. “Hold onto me,” Seijuuro said roughly in his ear. Another shudder worked its way down Sena’s whole body, followed by goosebumps.

“ _Oh my god_ ,” he whispered. Seijuuro had remembered. He wrapped both arms around Seijuuro’s shoulders, hid his face against his collar, and nodded.

With a slight grunt, Sena was up and wrapped around him. He hooked his legs a little more securely and bit back a laugh from his perch in Seijuuro’s hands even as his dick twitched. Yup, Seijuuro’s strength really did it for him, Alpha instincts be damned.

“You didn’t have to take it as a challenge. Doing it on the desk would’ve been just as good,” Sena said, grinning, not quite down at Seijuuro. He scowled, but with the puffy redness of his lips and the spit still shining on his chin, it didn’t have the same effect. Well, no, it did. There was the Pavlovian sex response again.

“I can do it.”

“I’m not _tiny_ , you know.”

“Small enough.”

Sena laughed, shoulders shaking and cheeks red. The wall was pressed up against his back and his laughter ebbed away. Seijuuro moved one leg so it hung over his elbow, wrapping that arm around mostly around waist and Sena’s mouth went dry again. _OhgodOhgodOhgod_ chanting in his head. He braced one hand on the wall, the other digging into the meat of Seijuuro’s shoulder. It took a minute, both of them panting, hips a little off rhythm, but finally, the blunt head of Seijuuro’s cock was at Sena’s hole and he wanted to cry again. Maybe he did when Seijuuro slowly, too slowly, slid in. Sena’s head thunked _hard_ against the wall behind him.

Seijuuro’s face was buried against his throat, breath hot and damp, shivers wracking through them both. And then his hips moved, and Sena automatically moved with him. They groaned, the sound pulled from their bellies, and Sena skidded up the wall at the next thrust. Fingers dug into the small of his back and along the side of his butt, his foot was dangling absurdly in the air, and he couldn’t get enough. It was harder, faster, almost frantic compared to the carefully controlled way Seijuuro had prepped him. He jerked Sena’s hips down faster, their bodies pounding hard enough Sena was finding it hard to breathe, each exhale forced out of him. His sweaty hand slid over the wall, then grasped at Seijuuro’s back, wrapped himself closer, shouting at the change of angle that finally _hit right there_.

He was egging Seijuuro on, distantly he could hear himself shouting, _there there, Seijuuro, yes_ , but he only cared about the sound of Seijuuro’s moans in his ear, the heavy breaths that burned against his skin, slid like molten gold down his belly.

“Sena, touch yourself,” Seijuuro breathed into his neck. Sena blinked stupidly _—_ why? Why should he _—_ _Oh_. He resettled one arm tighter around Seijuuro’s shoulders, then reached down to wrap a hand around his long-neglected erection.

Another quiet _oh god_ and his hand was flying over his cock, tightening around the thickening base, not quite in time with Seijuuro’s hips. _That’s it_ , was whispered in his ear and Sena’s body tensed.

Maybe it was the tone of his voice, or maybe he’d already been on the edge, but he was flying apart on a quiet gasp, eyes wide and unseeing over Seijuuro’s shoulder. Then, Seijuuro was pulling out, Sena _yelled_ , but he was on the ground, Seijuuro staring down at him, and he slipped right back in with a single hard thrust. Sena’s back bowed, and cum spilled over his fist again, body shaking with the suddenness. There was a furrow to Seijuuro’s brow, the thud of his hips faster, hard enough to hurt, and without thought, Sena’s hand stroked down his back. There, between his asscheeks, he was soaked with slick. It was so easy to press two fingers in, and Seijuuro jerked, once, twice, gasped and Sena watched him come undone over him.

Eyes wide and golden, mouth parted, hair sticking to his forehead and temples, looking gorgeous and speechless. And _Sena’s_. He smiled, wide and dopey, eyes flashing red.

“So… it was okay?” he rasped out.

Seijuuro's blink was slow, almost lazy, and the haziness sharpened to the intensity that Sena loved.

“Definitely okay,” he agreed in a voice as raspy and dry as Sena’s. Then, he collapsed with a grunt and Sena _oof_ ed. “Next time, not after weight training.”

Sena laughed breathlessly, a little wildly.

* * *

Finals and his thesis, which was really just a completed work up of his field experience, were the easiest they’d ever been that year. He walked the stage in March, not quite with honors, but knowing that he had _almost_ made honors. Which was a lot for him, the kid who only made 2s and 3s in high school. With the limited amount of seats, only his family could watch him walk. He had held his head up high, a bashful smile on his face knowing his mother, his father, and a man with too-intense dark eyes and his Mark on his neck were watching him get his diploma.

Because, yes, they’d barely made it to Valentine’s Day before they’d Bonded officially. Suzuna, Karin, and Mamori were demanding the rights to planning their wedding, Sena allowed them to figure it out between them (and also wondered why Seijuuro was asking Takami if there needed to be a fire at the wedding for him and Sakuraba-kun to come).

Who would’ve thought that just last summer he was hoping for his first kiss, or just one good first date?

His friends threw him a graduation party that was a little too exuberant for Sena’s peace of mind, but he was able to perch on Seijuuro’s lap, hide his face against his neck, and block it all out when it got too much. Just to be dragged away from the scowling Seijuuro to set off more fireworks or drink more punch.

It definitely wasn’t the punch Sena was used to.

He glanced up at the touch to the small of his back and grinned. As they counted down to midnight like it were New Year’s instead of a _graduation party_ , Seijuuro and Sena’s eyes met.

He really was the luckiest person in the world. ~~Or the second, it was a reoccurring argument.~~


End file.
